

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 








V 

( 

I 


h 

4 





» 4 ' 


I 


I 

9 


v; 


1 1 

It 


I 


« 



* ' 

• t 

I 


» 


( 


« • 



» I 



« 


. I 



4 







■ *• V- ’ ' ■ ‘'jit' 

L^*#* • K • *4 ' • txT ^ • /* ’ • r\ 













.f>tnrlair ft}orKIan^ 



The Noblest Roman 


A Story of Political Debauchery 
and Prostituted Allegiance 


BY 

SINCLAIR MORELAND 


SECOND EDITION 


ILLUSTRATED BY BETTY BAUGH 


Copyright 1910, 
Copyright 1911, 

. by 

SINCLAIR MORELAND 


ALL BIGHTS BESEEVED 




©CLA29r)4 37 


Dedicated^to the 

brave and pure patriots of Texas whose lives have 
inspired a lofty standard of civic moralty. 


Nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus. 


To the Reader. 


This book is only the ontgushing emotions of 
the heart, the unstudied utterances of feeling, 
rather than the studious deductions of the logi- 
cian or the elegant sentimentality of the rhetori- 
cian. This humble book may wing its way into 
many homes and soon be lost in the dead sea of 
oblivion ; the almost unknown name of the humble 
author may soon be numbered with the things 
that were 

“And as much forgot, as the Indian’s 
Canoe that crossed the bosom of the 
Lonely lake a thousand years ago.” 

Loving my native State with a wild and pas- 
sionate devotion, I have spoken to the guardians 
of her honor with emotion too high for words. 
I can only pray Grod to bring peace out of dis- 
quietude, and harmony out of chaos; and calm 
the fierce elements of political strife and party 
madness. Such is the object of my unpretend- 
ing novel, therefore I submit it to the public eye, 
confident of one thing only — that it contains 
truths above the landmark of the Lethean wave — 
truths that can never die. 

SINCLAIE MORELAND. 

Austin, Texas, 1911. 


Leading Characters of the Story. 


Senator Bradley — ^United States Senator. 
George St. Clair — Labor Leader. 

Judge Graham — Supreme Judge. 

Lucile Graham— -His Daughter. 

Uncle Ned — His Uegro Servant. 

Henry Priest — President Brooks-Priest Oil Co. 
John Priest — His Son. 

Kalab — President of a Texas Lumber Syndicate. 
Hanseord Kalab — His Son. 

John Hewett — Manager Brooks-Priest Oil Co. 
Kate Hewett — His Daughter. 

Kennel — Bradley’s Campaign Manager. 

Col. Black — Member of the Texas Legislature. 
Pat Crow — Notorious Kidnaper and Detective. 
Henry Striblert — Texas Lawyer. 

David B. Fran cot — Ex-Governor of Missouri. 


The Noblest Roman 



The Noblest Roman 


CHAPTER I. 


HE morning of the opening of this story, 



^ Henry T. Priest, president of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company, sat in the private office of 
David B. Francot, a distinguished politician and 
business man of St. Louis, Missouri. PriesPs face 
wore a troubled look as he consulted with his 
friend regarding his interests in Texas. 

“Damn this age of gilded morality and regu- 
lated commercialism ! It is the mask of the con- 
triving politician that draws the sentimental rab- 
ble to him with their votes!” exclaimed Henry 
Priest as an angry flush blazed across his face. 

“What in the devil is the matter with you now ? 
WhaPs between j'^ou and — and coal oil?” asked 
Francot with a smile. 

“Sentimentalism ! Sentimentalism ! Senti- 
mentalism ! Oh, damn the word! I mean the 
so-called conscientious scruples of that most pecu- 


10 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


liar species of things called — called Texas poli- 
ticians/’ 

I see. Those people down in Texas have 
quit burning your Tainted coal oil.’ ” 

^^No, Francot, the trouble is this: in our fight 
to prove our non-connection with the Gigantic 
Oil Trust, our lawyers failed to successfully com- 
bat the suit against us; our fight was in vain; we 
are banished from Texas.” 

“Then you have given up the fight?” asked 
Francot in a startled tone as he gazed steadily 
into the face of the financial diplomat. 

“No ! By the. eternals, no !” Priest quickly 
replied. “I never play a losing game; I’ve too 
many jacks in hand.” 

“But you lost the game in Texas,” remarked 
Francot as he re-lighted his cigar. 

“No, indeed, that game has not yet been fin- 
ished; I have only to buy my jacks and win in 
the end.” 

“Ah ! I see you still pursue the same old tac- 
tics. Priest, old fellow, you are the prince of 
tacticians, which is to say that you’re the incarna- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


11 


tion of the ace of spades whose commercial tricks 
are as black as a midnight in hell, and as clever 
as the devil w^hen he^s on a jag,” laughed Franco t. 

^^Let us now get down to business. This is a 
serious proposition, and what I need most at this 
crisis of our business is some one who possesses 
personal and political influence, a man powerful 
and sagacious enough to handle the Governor and 
Attorne}^ General of Texas.” 

^Tn other words, you want a political genius to 
tunnel your company back into Texas?” 
do.” 

^^Then I have your man,” said Francot. 

^mo is he?” 

^‘United States Senator Bradley of Texas.” 

“■No! Damn him, no! That champion of the 
common people, like a hungry dog, is on our trail 
and eager to devour us.” 

‘^‘YouTe wrong. I\e had business transactions 
with Bradley and know whereof I speak. In the 
open, he is to all appearances a loyal defender of 
his people, but the sword with which he strikes 
is a blunt sword, and the blow that he wields is 


12 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


both light and aimless. In secret and under cover 
he is the hireling of the Interests — a skillful con- 
jurer of the tricks of Monopoly 

3^ou sure we can safely lay our plans be- 
fore him and not fear a betrayal of them to those 
who are trying to destroy us?” 

'‘You may do so with perfect safety, provided 
you make it to his interest to do so.” 

"How does the Senator measure his interest?” 
asked Priest. 

"By the dollar,” answered Franco!, "but he is 
a shy old fox, and you must be very careful to 
approach him on this subject in a very judicious 
manner.” 

"Place me in conference with this man and I 
assure you that the heart and hand of Henry 
Priest are yours for life.” 

"My dear sir, your hand and heart given me 
in the past are indeed sufficient compensation for 
an active service in your behalf at this time, the 
time you need it most.” 

"Thank you, Francot, for your word of esteem. 
I would appreciate very much an interview with 


THE Js^OBLEST ROMAN 


13 


Senator Bradley at the earliest possible moment/^ 
replied Priest. 

“Then I will wire him at once and request him 
to come to St. Louis immediately.^’ 

“Then you are sure of results?” 

“Positively sure, sir. At the present time Sen- 
ator Bradley is under pecuniary obligations to 
me; in other words. Priest,.! have but to say the 
word and this United States Senator will do my 
bidding.” 

“Then we shall realize in him the effectual in- 
strument through which we may be readmitted 
into Texas and continue our business,” remarked 
Priest as he rose to his feet. 

“Yes, he is the instrument you need for this 
work; be generous with your purse, and you will 
find him a strong factor in placing the bright 
^Lone StaP again among the treasured gems of 
your corporate diadem.” 

“I hope you have prophesied correctly in regard 
to my business interests. I assure you I shall 
never forget your assistance in this matter. 
’Phone me at my office Just as soon as you receive 


14 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN 


an answer to the message sent Senator Bradley. 
Good morning/^ said Priest as he left the office 
of one of Missouri's most trusted and beloved 
sons, yet a tyrant in his sphere and the prince of 
political machinators. 

Francot at once wired Washington City, and in 
response to this message he was informed that 
Senator Bradley was now at his home in Texas. 
Francot then wired the Senator at his home town, 
and in reply received the following answer: 

''I leave for Washington tonight. Will stop 
over in St. Louis.'' 

Thus begins the tale of a dark and treacherous 
plot out of which spring deeds of dreadful note. 
^^The grand battle of a greater liberty has yet to 
be fought — not with swords and staves and armed 
men; not amid the bloody shock of embattled 
legions, marshalled armies and floating navies; 
not amid the howling thunders of bloody revolu- 
tions, but with the grander and holier weapons 
of truth. Truth and error must meet upon the 
wide and shining fields of fair discussion, and 
there forever settle the vexed questions which now 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


15 


madden the popular brain. The Church, the Col- 
lege, the Press and the Rostrum — these are the 
palladiums of Liberty — ^these the armies and 
navies that must do battle for the right, crush 
down the wrong, and wake in every bounding soul 
the reverberating aspiration for justice, truth and 
mercy, law, order and true government. These 
must clear the ship for action and guide her 
proudly and sublimely onward amid the stranded 
factions of our proud State.^^ 

Since the opening of this chapter two days 
have passed into the cycles of eternity. On this, 
the morning of the third, the curtain goes up, 
and the first act of a fearful drama begins, a 
drama into which is woven a tragedy as dark, 
deep and bloody as the most infinite brains of 
incarnated devils could ever conceive. 

Senator Bradley, the trusted warrior of the 
masses, arrived in St. Louis, and, after consult- 
ing with Francot, found himself behind closed 
doors and in secret conference with Henry Priest, 
the most dastardly enemy and oppressor of the 
laboring people of Texas. 


16 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


‘Tor the first time, I believe, I have the honor 
and pleasure of a personal acquaintance with the 
most distinguished son of Texas,” said Priest, as 
he greeted Senator Bradley. 

“And for the first time I have the pleasure, I 
assure you, of meeting face to face the great mag- 
net that has lighted the dark places of that grand 
old State and lubricated the prodigious wheels of 
her commercial- progress,” replied Bradley. 

“I thank you. Senator, and in return I wish 
to congratulate you upon your late political pro- 
motion. You have the distinction of being the 
successor of a great Senator.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Priest,” replied Senator Brad- 
ley. “This Senatorial victory is the result of a 
hard and stubborn fight, therefore the laurels of 
such a victory are appreciated.” 

“By the way. Senator, I believe I have a letter 
of introduction to you from our friend Francot,” 
said Priest, as he handed the letter to Bradley. 

“What are your troubles, Mr. Priest?” asked 
Senator Bradley as he finished reading the letter. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


17 


^^The Attorney General of Texas is trying to 
drive my company out of business in that State/^ 

^^The people of Texas will not, in my opinion, 
tolerate the methods of the Gigantic Oil Trust.” 

see that you are laboring under the same 
misapprehension that so many of your people are. 
The Brooks-Priest Oil Company is not the Gigan- 
tic or any part of it. The Brooks-Priest Oil Com- 
pany is an independent business, neither owned 
nor controlled by any trust,” replied Priest em- 
phatically. 

“But my understanding is, you have already 
been convicted in the courts of our State for 
being a part of the Gigantic Oil Trust,” remarked 
Senator Bradley, as he leaned back in his chair. 

“We were expressly acquitted of that charge.” 

“Then what was the offense for which youi 
company has been convicted?” 

“We were convicted for violating the law 
against exclusive contracts,” replied Priest, nerv- 
ously. 

“If that is your only offense, you ought to have 


18 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


no trouble in settling the matter with the State 
authorities/’ replied Bradley. 

^^Now, Senator, I want you to return to Texas 
and straighten out our tangled locks. As the 
most influential man of that State you can do us 
a great service.” 

‘^^But I practice law and not influence/’ pro- 
tested Senator Bradley. 

^^Then you are the man we want/’ pleaded 
Priest; ‘Ve need an influential lawyer to repre- 
sent our interests in Texas.” 

^^State the manner in which you wish me to 
represent your interests in my State/’ said Sen- 
ator Bradley. 

'^Go at once to Waco, offer to compromise the 
suit pending there against us and get it dismissed. 
Pay the State attorneys a liberal fee for the com- 
promise and dismissal of this suit. Accept the 
proposition I have just made you, and I vsdll pre- 
sent 5^ou this morning my check for one thou- 
sand dollars.” 

^Triest, I cannot understand why you so grossly 
misrepresent the relationship existing between 


THE i^OBLEST EOMAN 


19 


your company and the Gigantic/' said Senator 
Bradley, as a flush of assumed anger crimsoned 
his cheeks. ^^Both the Supreme Court of Texas 
and of the United States decided that your com- 
pany was a trust and that it should be expelled 
from the State. I have made a personal exami- 
nation of existing conditions, and my flndings 
completely substantiate the correctness of the 
court's decision." 

^^Then, Senator, you refuse to give us your 
assistance in this matter?" asked Priest, in an 
excited tone. 

‘T refuse, sir, to wear a Janus face or jeopar- 
dize the interest of my people for a paltry thou- 
sand dollars." 

^^Ah ! Senator, conscience makes cowards of 
men !" 

''But do you not realize the fact, sir, that I 
represent a people in the halls of legislation whose 
interests are antagonistic to every interest of a 
trust, therefore, I cannot and will not by such 
inconsistency endanger my lofty political estate 
for such a small recompense. Then, again, I 


20 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


could not return immediately to Texas, as I must 
go at once to Kentucky and sell a bunch of horses 
in order to be able to meet an obligation already 
past due.” 

^Tardon me, Senator, but may I ask the full 
amount of that obligation?” asked Priest in a 
hopeful tone. 

''Three thousand dollars, sir, and this must be 
met at once.” 

"Ah, Senator, then we can be of great assist- 
ance to each other; I will give you my check this 
morning for three thousand dollars as payment 
for your services in our behalf, which will relieve 
you of your present financial embarrassment, mak- 
ing it possible for you to forego your trip to Ken- 
tucky and return to Texas.” 

"Mr. Priest, I would be glad to assist you in 
any way I can because of my friendship for Gov- 
ernor Erancot, but I cannot accept your fee,” 
answered Senator Bradley seriously. 

"Why not. Senator?” asked Priest with marked 
confusion. 

"Because I cannot serve at the same time two 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


21 


masters without violating the strictest rule in the 
code of propriety.” 

^^Then, according to that principle, a United 
States Senator must sever all connection with his 
personal affairs and resign supervision over them 
when he receives his commission to serve in a rep- 
resentative capacity,” pleaded Priest. 

^^Not at all, sir. I still retain supervision over 
the little I possess, and shall continue to do so 
as that is man’s natural prerogative, be he peasant 
or Senator, but you must remember you are asking 
me to assist in the promotion of a business in 
which I have no personal pecuniary interest.” 

“Well, Bradley, if you were a shareholder in 
the Brooks-Priest Oil Company would you hesi- 
tate to defend its interests outside of the halls of 
the Federal Congress?” asked Priest as he closely 
studied the expression on Bradley’s face. 

“Not in the least, Mr. Priest, for in defending 
the company I would, as I have just said, be exer- 
cising my natural prerogative.” 

“Then again. Senator, if you were a shareholder 
in our company would you hesitate in accepting 


22 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


an attorneyship for the same?” asked Priest, as 
he saw in his mind his cherished goal. 

^‘^Certainl}’^ not, but as I own no stock in your 
company I cannot aid you in your warfare against 
the people of Texas.” 

^‘'Now, Senator, I^’ll tell you what we will do. 
We will sell you ten thousand dollars worth of 
stock and appoint you as an attorney for the com- 
pany, with a large annual salary.” 

‘T am not financially able to purchase the 
stock,” replied the Senator, as he cast his eyes 
meditatively toward the fioor. 

‘Then we will issue to you ten thousand dol- 
lars worth of stock certificates and take your note 
secured by the stock for that amount; in this 
way you will receive a large annual dividend and 
a handsome salary as our attorney,” said Priest, 
with a seductive smile. 

“Thank you, Mr. Priest,” replied the Senator, 
with hypocritical indifference. “I will accept 
your proposition, feeling that I commit no wrong, 
either in the purchase of the stock, or in the prac- 
tice of my profession while absent from the Fed- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


23 


era! capital, but I suggest that you issue the stock 
certificates in your own name and endorse them 
over to me. In this way my interest in the com- 
pany will not be known to the public, for I wish 
this whole transaction to remain confidential be- 
tween us.” 

Senator, 1 appreciate the step you have just 
taken and I assure you that in the future our 
interests shall in part become yours, and our 
mutual interests shall forever destroy the destruc- 
tive elements so madly combating us on every 
side,” said Priest triumphantly. 

^^What are your plans as to meeting the trou- 
bles now brewing in Texas?” asked the Senator. 

“In addition to your salary as our attorney I 
will pay you three thousand three hundred dol- 
lars now so that you may meet your obligations 
in Kentucky at once, and accompany our attorney 
and me to Texas tonight in my private car, which 
will leave for the South at ten-thirty p. m. Have 
you any suggestions to offer. Senator?” 

“In my opinion it will be best for me to leave 
you at Waco and try to get the case dismissed 


24 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


that is now pending there^ while yon and yonr 
other attorney go on to Austin, where I shall 
meet you as soon as I wind up affairs in Waco. 
Then we will tussle with the Attorney General 
and Secretary of State for a new license to do 
business, as I feel sure I can convince them that 
the Brooks-Priest Oil Company is independent 
of the Gigantic, and entirely free from its poison- 
ous influences. But if we fail in this, we can 
go through the subterfuge of a dissolution of the 
offending corporation and the organization of a 
new one, for which we will receive our charter 
and continue business at the same old stand.^’ 

‘^Senator, I thank you for your assurance in 
this matter and hope you will manage our aff’airs 
down there in such a manner as to carry our 
standard to victory,^^ replied Priest with enthu- 
siasm, as he handed the Senator a check for the 
promised amount. 

‘‘1 wish to give you my note for this check in 
the same manner as I did for the stock certiflcates, 
as I want all payments made by you to me to 
appear as loans.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


25 


^^Certainly, if you wish it that way I will keep 
these notes with my own private papers and have 
the three thousand three hundred dollars entered 
upon the books of the company as expense of anti- 
trust litigation, and if the time ever comes when 
we wish to prove these transactions as loans, we 
shall have the notes to speak for themselves, and 
in that way untangle the net which may be thrown 
around us, and with these instruments escape the 
intricate meslies holding us. But I want to ask 
you, do you know the county attorney of McLen- 
nan county?” asked Priest as the shadow of deep 
anxiety passed over his features. 

^^Why, I guess I do !” exclaimed the Senator, 
proudly. “George St. Clair is now the attorney 
of McLennan county, and with that boy there as 
the State’s attorney we will have another Welling- 
ton’s Waterloo.” 

“Is that so? You are then sure of satisfactory 
results in Waco?” 

“Why, certainly I am,” answered the Senator; 
“George St. Clair would not dare oppose a single 
desire of mine. 1 am his god-father; I took him 


26 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


when he was an orphaned child and had him edu- 
cated in the best schools of our State; I placed 
him in the law department of the State Univer- 
sity, from which he was graduated with highest 
honors ; then I gave him a start in his profession. 
Ah, sir, we shall find there a sharp-edged tool, 
and as bright a legal gem as ever flashed from 
Cerebrum’s crown.” 

^^This is indeed interesting. Senator, and ap- 
peals to me very forcibly; and because of the 
ties existing between you and the young man I 
feel sure he will grant any wish you may ask that 
comes within his power. But how did you come 
to adopt him? Who were his parents and what 
became of them?” 

‘‘The story of his life is rather a pathetic one. 
We found him in an orphanage in New York, 
and as we had no children of our own my wife 
took a fancy to the little fellow, so we brought 
him to Texas, and in our home he grew to man- 
hood as our own son, loved by my wife and me 
with as much affection and devotion as though 
our own blood coursed through his veins.” 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


27 


^^And you know nothing of his parents in- 
quired Priest. 

^^Not a thing; his parentage is a mystery. 

^^Then how is it that he bears the name of 
George St. Slair?^^ 

^^When we took him from the orphanage he was 
about two years of age and, of course, too young 
to remember his parents, and, as we could find 
out nothing at the orphanage concerning the child, 
we trusted to luck and took him because of his 
bright appearance. Being uncertain as to his 
ancestry and the quality of his blood we thought 
it best to give him a name other than our own, so 
to make a long story short we named the little 
fellow George St. Clair.^^ 

^^The name St. Clair strikes the tenderest cord 
of my heart. Our first born was a boy, and in 
honor of my college chum at Ann Arbor we gave 
our baby that name, and when he was about a 
year old we took him with us on our summer trip 
to Europe. Eeturning to America, a short dis- 
tance from Long Island, our vessel collided with 
another in a fog and within a few moments was 


28 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


rapidlj^ filled with water. The captain gave up 
the ship as doomed, and as the life-boats were 
being lowered our nurse with the baby in her 
arms was separated from us by the awful stam- 
pede of panic-stricken passengers. As every one 
on the doomed vessel had been crowded into life- 
boats we felt they were safe in one of them, and 
as there were two steamers coming to our rescue 
we hoped it would not be long until we should 
find the nurse and our baby on board one of the 
rescuing vessels, but those bright hopes became 
awful fears when the news came to us that one 
of the life-boats went down, and all on board 
had perished. We searched the vessel we were on, 
but to no avail — ^the nurse and baby could not be 
found. After a few hours we reached New York 
and a thorough search was made among the pas- 
sengers on board the other steamer, but they were 
not among them, and our hearts were torn into 
bleeding threads when the awful realization of 
our fears became apparent that our baby had gone 
down to a watery grave. Pardon me. Senator, for 
relating to you this sad occurrence in my life, but 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


29 


when you mentioned the name of your foster son, 
it brought fresh to my memory the name of my 
dead child/^ 

‘‘The bodies were never found ?” asked the Sen- 
ator, sympathetically. 

“No! The last we saw of our baby was just 
a few moments before we were separated on board 
the wrecked vessel.” 

“That must have been a terrible shock to your 
wife.” 

“Yes, indeed ! That was almost thirty years 
ago, but she still grieves over the loss of the child, 
and on every voyage across the Atlantic since that 
time the roar of the sea brings only to her ears 
the childish cries of the lost one. — But back to 
our subject. 

“Senator, are you on intimate terms with the 
Attorney General of Texas?” 

“Yes, Attorney General Smitherton and I 
were school boys together, and in common we 
shared the joys and sorrows of boyhood; there- 
fore, the sacred memories of the past assure an 


30 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


easily won victory in the Attorney Generahs 
office.” 

hope so, but I am afraid the officials down 
there already scent a mouse,” replied Priest, as 
he moved nervously in his chair. 

^^Mr. Priest, I shall depend upon my influence 
in Texas among her high officials to gain our 
point, and with that winning element of my 
nature, I am perfectly confldent of returning with 
laurels of victory from that fleld of conquest,” 
asserted Senator Bradley with his characteristic 
egotism. 

‘‘Senator, I believe in you we have found the 
man who will successfully assist us in raising 
again our scepter over the broad fields of Texas !” 
exclaimed Priest in a sanguine tone. 

“I am the only man that can bring your com- 
pany hack into Texas, as I control the most pow- 
erful machine ever operated within its borders, 
and with it I have the power either to bless your 
interests with the sunshine of heaven or curse 
them with the blasts of hell.” 

“Well, Senator, give us the sunshine and save 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


31 


the blasts of hell for our enemies,” laughed Priest, 
good-naturedly. 

“You may rest assured of that, my dear Priest, 
for I must confess that I am becoming exceed- 
ingly interested in the affairs of your company, 
the progress of which startles the world,” replied 
Senator Bradley as the glow of avaricious admira- 
tion flushed his cheeks. 

“I thank you again. Senator, for rekindling 
within me this fire of hope, and with you as the 
great and mighty champion of our cause I feel 
that we have built a bulwark around our company 
that is so strong that our aggressive offenders 
will find it indestructible.” 

“I suppose that great bulwark of defense is 
composed of dead Senators^ bones and cemented 
together with their blood,” laughed Bradley as 
he rose to go. 

As Priest was now alone, a cold, heartless smile 
played over his face — a smile of lust that speaks 
from the pirate’s face a story of conquest as he 
embraces his treasured spoils. “I may bear the 
moral stigma of being the black spider in the 


32 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


great entangling web of commercialism, but I 
have caught my fly — a damned traitor, but it 
takes a traitor, a crook, a thief to do my work. 
Tiie traitor! The traitor! Damn him, but I’ll 
use him; he^s my fly.” 

That night a private car carrying an ignoble 
trio sped on toward the peaceful land of sun- 
shine and flowers. Each hour drew these cow- 
ardly depredators and political bushwhackers to 
their point of conquest. There, with the sword 
of influence drawn, its scabbard thrown away, 
they waged a ruthless war against the laws and 
lamp-lighted homes of the Texas land until their 
oil-spotted banner, hanging with the laurels of a 
cowardly fought and ill won battle, waved in tri- 
umph over the defenseless homes of the laboring 
people. The Governor, Attorney General, and 
Secretary of State stood firmly for the rights of 
the people against their contending foes and de- 
fended to the uttermost the ouster judgment ren- 
dered against the Brooks-Priest Oil Company in 
favor of the State of Texas, but the poisonous 
influence of the venomous-tongued Senator par- 



may bear the moral stigma of being the* black 
spicier in the great entangling web of commercialism, 
but I have caught my fly — a damned traitor, but it 
takes a traitor, a crook, a thief to do my work. The 
traitor! The traitor! Damn him, but I’ll use him, 
he’s my fly.” — Page 31. 











I 


./: • ‘ .;■.>• 


. f 





» «l 


'* ■ ■^»^-<. ' '.‘lV^S - ■ >- .i':i 

•;^: \ .V V.. ^ ■^. 





r. ' t< 



fe '•'V 

A » Sg^f ■ V *- ' M V " V . -r 

jji'i ;•■ ■■'>^ ' ’iiW^i'. >; :%, ''■ 

9 V . ^ A _ a _ m A 



^Ifr ikj 


I • 


»• 



A 


%• 


V 


b 



hV'X* W*’ 


. V 


« > 


«. 


- j 









fr 


•V V 


«i« • * 






■sL 


. ‘ I 


#sv 


. ^ 'i' /•• -v 

►a r 


» • • 














THE ^^'OBLBST EOMAN 


33 


alyzed the judgment of the honest Attorney Gen- 
eral, wrenching from him the promise to permit 
a new organization of the old company to file 
their charter and re-enter the State, provided they 
sever all connections with the Gigantic Oil Com- 
pany or any other trust and return to the people 
of Texas with clean hands. This was an easy 
task for the artificer of the would-be reborn trust ; 
for all to be done now was for the truant Senator 
of the United States Congress to reclothe with a 
new cloak this corporation of corruption and in- 
troduce as a queenly virgin the fair-faced prosti- 
tute to a virtuous populace. 

‘‘The hypocrite had left his mask, and stood 
In naked ugliness. He was a man 
Who stole the livery of the court of heaven 
To serve the devil in.” 


CHAPTER II. 


\ S the day wrapped itself in the gray draperies 
of evening-tide, and as the sinking sun 
showered bright gold upon the mazarine hills of 
the west, a private Pullman car moved slowly 
from the union depot of the beautiful capitol city 
of Texas, and was soon lost in the silence of the 
woodland and thick gathering darkness of ap- 
proaching night. Within this palace on wheels 
sat the same three who during the day unscru- 
pulously deflowered the virtue of Texas, and not 
content with the day’s ravishment, were now plot- 
ting the seduction of the civic virtue of Themis to 
appease their burning passions for gold. 

As the wheeled hell of Satan rolled on toward 
the city of Waco, the trusted Senator of Texas, 
the political ingrate, sat at a desk inspecting vari- 
ous written instruments which he was to basely 
use as the agency through which to plunder the 
masses of their scanty earnings, that he might 
provide gratiflcation for the unlawful lust of a 
commercial pirate. It was far into the night 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


35 


when the last of their many atrocious plans were 
laid for the morrow^s battle — when traitors of the 
Iscariot mould should sally forth to strike with 
mortal blows the firesides of our land, and 

“For their own nefarious ends, 

Tread upon Freedom and her friends.” 

The vigilant stars of the early morning were 
rapidly fading into a seeming nothingness; the 
king of day rose in the east from his nightly, 
couch and proceeded slowly to mount his noon- 
day throne, as the palace car of Henry Priest 
with its despicable human cargo stood on the 
track in front of the depot in Waco. The three 
slumbering conspirators, weary and tired from 
the effects of their strenuous and dastardly work 
of the previous day and night, slept on undis- 
turbed by the hustle and bustle of the awakening 
city. As her laboring sons went forth with their 
dinner pails to honestly toil for the bare necessi- 
ties of home, they were unmindful of the palace 
car within which the prince of plutocracy wrapped 
in the draperies of his silken couch was sleeping 


36 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


away the refreshing hours of the morning, while 
his two hirelings, the honorable villains, w^ere 
dreaming their way toward Elysian fields. 

After a late and dainty breakfast. Priest, Brad- 
ley and their attorney were driven in a closed car- 
riage to the law office of George St. Clair, the 
county attorney of McLennan county. He was 
busily engaged at his desk as they entered to 
^ffieard the lion in his den, the Douglas in his 
hall.^^ 

As they approached, St. Clair looked up, and 
recognizing at once the guardian of his youth, 
sprang to his feet, grasped the hand of the Sen- 
ator, and with the other arm thrown around his 
waist, drew him to his breast in one strong and 
long embrace, which, during the silence of the 
moment, spoke a language more eloquent than the 
tongues of men could utter, or the brush of the 
artist portray. So great was St. Clair’s joy in 
meeting again the man who took him as his pro- 
tege and lifted him to a pinnacle of honor, that 
he did not notice the presence of the two remain- 
ing gentlemen until Senator Bradley turned and 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


37 


presented them to him. St. Clair greeted them 
kindly, and in a few moments all were seated 
aronnd the desk. 

After conversing for a while upon various sub- 
jects of local interest, Senator Bradley introduced 
the issue of the hour into the conversation by 
exclaiming, after a few moments^ silence: ‘‘By 
the way, George, I have come here to ask a favor 
of you — 

“Granted, sir, anything you may ask,” inter- 
rupted St. Clair, as a smile lighted his face, 
kindled by the thought that he was at last en- 
abled to be of material service to his benefactor 
of the past. 

“Thank you, my boy,” said the Senator as he 
drew his chair closer to St. Clair. “I have always 
felt since I established you in your profession here 
that should I ever be in need of your assistance I 
would find your arms extended to aid me — 

“And my heart given to your cause without a 
single reserve !” exclaimed St. Clair. 

“Then I shall expect your hand and heart to 
aid me now,” replied the Senator as he continued. 


38 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


^AVhen I heard of the suit against the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company, alleging its connection with 
the Gigantic Oil Trust, and knowing that you 
were to prosecute the case I wished to supply you 
with strong evidence with which to substantiate 
your charges, therefore I took an active part in 
investigating the relationship between the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company and the Gigantic Oil Trust. 
After a thorough examination into their business 
affairs I was surprised to find that the charges 
against them were completely groundless and that 
a judgment against the members of this company 
would be an act of utter persecution; therefore, 
my dear boy, in the name of justice and honor 
dismiss this suit and you shall be paid a liberal 
fee for the time you have spent on the case.^^ 

‘^Senator, if the charges against the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company are untrue, its members shall 
not be suffered to pay one cent, either as a judg- 
ment or an attorney's fee.’’ 

^^Then you will dismiss the suit?” asked the 
Senator joyfully. 

^^The Supreme Court of the State has decreed 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


39 


that the Brooks-Priest Oil Company is a part of 
the Gigantic Oil Trust, and as an officer of the 
law, sworn to do my duty, I cannot dismiss this 
suit/^ 

“But you have the power,^’ urged the Senator. 

“I may have the power, but its sacredness shall 
not be desecrated to the detriment of my people,” 
answered St. Clair calmly. 

“But is it a desecration of power to administer 
justice?” asked the Senator emphatically. 

“Ah, no. Senator! But, being subservient to 
this decree of the highest tribunal of the land I 
shall prosecute this suit unto the bitter end.” 

“My boy, you have taken a radical stand; let 
not only the memories of the past pregnant with 
our mutual friendship, but let justice and right 
guide you in this matter to a more merciful con- 
sideration of the case.” 

“Sir, I cannot temper justice with mercy. In 
order to execute the demands of justice, we must 
necessarily be cruel. As for friendship, it is the 
holiest gift of God, but when it wanders away 
unguided from its divinely appointed sphere to 


40 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


defeat the ends of justice, it becomes as a raving 
demon, seeking whom it may devour.” 

Priest and his attorney up to this time had 
remained silent, trusting alone to the Senators 
influence over the young attorney as the only 
avenue to victory, but as this power seemed as 
ineflective as pebbles against a granite wall. Priest 
earnestly said: 

^^Mr. St. Clair, it is not our mission here to 
prey upon the vitals of justice; we only ask at 
your hands a fair deal, and are willing to com- 
promise this suit.” 

^Tt is our purpose to give you a fair deal, Mr. 
Priest, but when compromise has a place, scrutiny 
becomes stone blind and precedence goes in truck.” 

^^George, who is assisting you in this prosecu- 
tion?” asked Senator Bradley in a vexed tone. 

^^Henry Striblert, your old friend and college 
chum,” answered St. Clair in a serious tone. 

‘^What, my old friend Striblert !” exclaimed 
Senator Bradley in astonishment. must see 
him. Where is his office?” 

After receiving this information and after a 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


41 


few remarks. Senator Bradley excused himself 
and with the attorney left the room. 

“The hell-hounds, as ungorg’d with flesh and blood 
pursue their prey, and seek their wonted food!” 

Now all alone with his righteous contestant, 
Priest — the corporate vampire, began his intrigu- 
ing work of bombarding the moral barricades of the 
common people which at this time were being 
protected by their loyal defender, ^^The Noblest 
Roman of them all.” 

“In action faithful, and in honor clear!” 

^^Mr. St. Clair, we have just settled matters 
down at Austin satisfactorily. We have reorgan- 
ized, filed our charter, and a permit has been 
issued to us to pursue business in Texas. We 
have now come to Waco in the hope of settling 
our troubles here, and I now make you my final 
proposition — I will pay the State a judgment of 
ten thousand dollars and attorney's fee of three 
thousand, provided you dismiss the criminal case 
against me.” 

^^Mr. Priest, the State pays this fee by giving 


42 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


a certain per cent of the judgment, and to accept 
it in any other way would be but little less than 
bribery. No, the judgment named is too small, 
and as far as the criminal case is concerned, 
and as far as lies in my power, it shall not be 
dismissed until properly tried and disposed of,” 
replied St. Clair warmly. 

^^Wliat is your compromise judgment?” asked 
Priest. 

^^Twenty-five thousand dollars, and not one cent 
less,” answered St. Clair. 

‘^And for this judgment you also dismiss the 
criminal suit?” asked Priest eagerly. 

‘^Emphatically, no ! You have been for four 
years a fugitive from justice and the State has 
tried to extradite you without success.” 

“I will not pay this compromise judgment of 
twenty-five thousand unless the criminal case is 
dismissed — this is my ultimatum.” 

“I refuse your terms.” 

“You are now my only stumbling block in 
Texas, and it is madness, yes, utter madness, for 
you to attempt the fearful task of extracting the 


THE J^OBLEST EOMAN 


43 


breath of life from an unoffending corporation!^’ 
exclaimed Priest as he crossed over and occupied 
the chair vacated by Senator Bradley. 

‘^Do you mean to insinuate, sir, that I am per- 
secuting you, that I am dealing unfairly with you 
and your company?” asked St. Clair sharply. 

^^Pardon me, Mr. St. Clair, I did not mean to 
cast such a reflection, but realizing as I do our 
commercial purity — our freedom from sinister 
acts, I feel that we are today the victims of in- 
justice.” 

^^Your business in Texas met its death through 
suicide and not from the assassin’s dagger, as its 
suicidal hand injected into the vitals of its body 
the deadly venom of a poisonous trust. It may 
be madness on my part to exert my powers in 
driving from the boundaries of this State a can- 
cerous institution, but if this be madness, I glory, 
sir, in its righteous course.” 

do not question for one moment the honesty 
of your convictions, for I believe you are con- 
scientiously battling against us, but I feel that 
a great prejudicial cataract obscures your moral 


44 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


vision to such an extent that the spotless white 
robes of our corporation appear to you dark and 
polluted. If we are the commercial cut-throats 
you have so vehemently described, why is it that 
the civical chaste Senator of your State is such 
an aggressive ally in our defense? Is this not in 
itself sufficient proof of our commercial purity?” 

^^Mr. Priest, I love Senator Bradley as I would 
love a father; in fact, he has been to me the only 
father I ever knew and it wounds me sorely to 
find myself placed in a position where I cannot 
acquiesce in his wishes upon this subject, but I 
believe the true status of your company has been 
misrepresented to the Senator, and where he 
should have seen its dark shadows he beholds 
only the radiance of its glory,” replied St. Clair 
sadly. 

^^St. Clair, you are the foster son of my friend. 
Senator Bradley, therefore I feel a deep interest 
in your welfare and would be glad to lift you 
from the 'unpretentious office of county attorney 
to an attorneyship in this State for our new com- 
pany, as I see before you a most brilliant future. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


45 


a genius among men/' answered Priest flatter- 
ingly. 

'H thank you, sir, for the compliment, and 
while it is my ambition to become a genius among 
men— a God-fearing genius— a genius beneflcent 
and powerful enough to lift the oppressive bur- 
dens from the shoulders of my people that they 
may rise unfettered to higher peaks of glory, I 
cannot accept your offer, as a lavishment from 
your hand would be the same as though I had 
pierced the blood- veins of the daily laborers, and 
had taken from the crimson stream meandering 
there, drops of hum. an gore." 

'‘What do you mean by such a statement?" 
asked Priest in a perplexed tone. 

'T mean that the offices you have power to All 
are but agencies of moral carnage — that your 
money is blood-money." 

"Oh, St. Clair, throw away forever such fool- 
ish notions, be a man — feel as a man — do as a 
man, and be not the victim of foolish sentimental- 
isms that are rolling over our land today as a 


46 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


great tidal wave, burying men with talents beneath 
its fury.” 

“The man is more to be blessed who is a martyr 
to the people’s cause than he who is a living in- 
strument in the hands of unscrupulous pirates.” 

“Our corporation is not a piracy, but a legiti- 
mate institution in the name of which I offer 
you an attorneyship at a salary of five thousand 
dollars.” 

“As I said before, I cannot accept your offer. 
I am not a trafficker of principle; I neither buy 
nor sell it; I am not worth buying, but what I 
am, the wealth of the world cannot buy nor the 
touch of Midas tarnish,” replied St. Clair boldly. 

“1 meant no insinuation whatever detrimental 
to your high sense of honor. My proposition to 
you was as a would-be client to his would-be 
attorney,” pleaded Priest. 

“I am, as you know, county attorney of McLen- 
nan county, and in addition to this office I have 
been elected Exalted Knight of the ^Knights of 
the Laboring Clan,’ therefore my services are 
engaged.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


47 


“By the way, St. Clair, what is the object and 
nature of this new organization that has sprung 
like magic in the ranks of the laboring people 
Mr. Priest, while this is a new organization, 
yet its principles are as old as the hills, and by 
the grace of God they shall be as everlasting as 
eternity. Its object is to impede the advance- 
ment of plutocracy into their ranks and to destroy 
forever the oppressions that crush them down,^^ 
replied St. Clair proudly. 

“Very worthy objects indeed,^^ smiled Priest, 
but donT you think there is a great inconsistency 
in forming a trust to destroy a trust 

Ihere is a marked distinction between the two 
so-called trusts. The combination of capital is 
offensive, while the combination of labor is de- 
fensive. It would be nonsense and destructive 
to the people of this nation to remain unorgan- 
ized while a foreign nation invaded our country 
with an organized and disciplined army. So it 
is with labor unions ; they had to combine them- 
selves into one great clan in order to combat the 
oppressive forces of combined wealth; therefore. 


48 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


from amid the thorns of an ungodly monopoly 
sprang the beautiful flower of a righteous com- 
bination. The blessings of God shall be its sun- 
shine and the tears of a grateful people the re- 
freshing dew that vitalizes its fragrant petals.” 

‘^St. Clair, you have a wrong impression of 
capital and the capitalist; you look upon capital 
as a great burden pressing down upon the masses ; 
you associate the capitalist with the highway rob- 
ber, who in the dead of night and in secret plun- 
ders vaults of their contents.” 

‘^My dear sir,” replied St. Clair, ^^you partially 
mistake my conception of this subject. Capital 
exerted as it should be would become the buoy by 
which the laboring people are held up, but through 
combinations of ill gained wealth it becomes as a 
millstone tied to their necks. As for the capital- 
ist, I wish I could liken him unto a great bene- 
factor whose arms reach into every hovel of this 
nation, carrying with them the higher and grander 
comforts of life. But how different is this picture 
in reality; the capitalist of today is destitute of 
the spirit of philanthropy, and as the cruel octo- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


49 


pus of finance his slimy tentacles have coiled them- 
selves around the hearthstones of the poor of our 
land, instilling into their sanctuary the poisons of 
a mixed plutocratic venom, and in return take 
from its scantily filled coffers the hard-earned 
comforts of life. Yes, you are right,” continued 
St. Clair, “I look upon such capitalists as robbers ; 
far more than robbers. Not being content with 
the people^s money, damp with the perspiration of 
hard labor and the tears of poverty, they enter 
into the little kingdoms of God — kingdoms where 
even angels tread with reverence and move with 
silent wing, and there they rob the souls of men 
of their civic virtue, as the bee robs the fiower 
of its honey.” 

At this juncture. Senator Bradley, Henry Strib- 
lert and the attorney entered the room, and after 
the usual greetings and conversational prelimi- 
naries to the main subject of the morning, Henry 
Striblert exclaimed: ^^By the way, St. Clair, 
since the short conference in my office a few 
moments ago with my friend. Senator Bradley, 
my eyes have been opened and I see more plainly 


50 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


what I believe to be the true condition of alfairs 
regarding the Brooks-Priest Oil Company and its 
relation to the Gigantic Oil Trnst/^ 

^AVhat is the nature of the picture that has so 
suddenly been revealed to you?^^ asked St. Clair 
in astonishment. 

^‘1 see a picture of condemned innocence stag- 
gering beneath the assassin’s hand with the dagger 
of persecution rankling in its bosom/’ replied 
Striblert with feigned seriousness. 

‘^Then you believe the decision of the Supreme 
Court erroneous?” asked St. Slair. 

^T do, and it is my intention to follow the dic- 
tates of my conscience and pursue this case no 
farther, and I believe it is your duty as the 
attorney of this county to exert every effort toward 
the dismissal of this suit, for I am sure it is not 
your purpose to chastise the innocent with the lash 
of persecution.” 

^^Mr. Striblert, I assure you it is not my in- 
tention to use the lash of persecution in any case, 
but I am convinced that the Brooks-Priest Oil 
Company is nothing more than the bastardly off- 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN 


51 


spring of an ignoble sire, who in the haunts of 
commercial shame lives the life of a corporate 
prostitute, and that the decision of the court was 
nothing but majestic justice mailed in civic right- 
eousness, wielding her sword in defense of op- 
pressed humanity, therefore I shall remain as I 
am, honored as her armor-bearer, executing my 
privileged commission by drawing my sword and 
slaying every interest that dares to invade the land 
of the free for the purpose of placing shackles 
upon the defenseless/^ 

^^George, Striblert is right. Our State needs 
every legitimate commercial enterprise she can 
get, and instead of lifting j^our hands to whip 
them from our midst and across her borders, you 
should raise them in the protection of unoffending 
interests which, in the course of their business, 
will develop this State from its commercial crude- 
ness, and it is in this connection, George, that I 
wish to impress upon you your duty to the people 
of Texas, for in so doing I speak in the fullness 
of my representative capacity for the welfare of 
her people who have honored me with their trust 


52 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


and confidence/’ said Senator Bradley in a tone 
of patriotic tenderness. 

^^And is this why yon are here today with Mr. 
Priest?” asked St. Clair. 

^^Certainly, George. I would be in Washing- 
ton now but I felt that I could serve my people 
better by being here. I hope my trip to Waco 
will not be fruitless and that you will see the 
error of your course and dismiss this case. If 
you do so I will see that you are paid a liberal 
fee.” 

‘^Sir, I am sorry that circumstances are such 
as to render the granting of your request impos- 
sible/’ replied St. Clair as he leaned forward in 
his chair and picked up from the fioor a folded 
paper which he opened and read. 

^‘^St. Clair, in this stand you have taken against 
my wishes you become an ingrate and act a thank- 
less part in consideration of what I have done for 
you in the past/’ said Senator Bradley as he 
folded his arms upon his breast. 

‘^Ah, sir, it stabs me to the heart to think vou 
fostered my youth for such nefarious ends — that 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


53 


you would have me betray my people at the hour 
they need me most. For God^s sake look with 
deep compassion upon our distressed country and 
before it is too late strike the dagger from the 
uplifted hand of her betrayer lest it be plunged to 
the hilt in the heart of her oppressor.^^ 

‘^What do you mean by branding me as the be- 
trayer of my country?” cried Senator Bradley in- 
dignantly. 

mean that you are selling your country to 
a monopoly for the same purpose that actuated 
Judas to sell his Christ to the Jews.” 

^^My God ! My God !” cried Bradley as he rose 
passionately to his feet. ^^You have cruelly mis- 
judged the sacred motives of my heart that prompt 
me in the service of my country — ” 

^^Then I suppose you mark me as a traitor be- 
cause I have withdrawn from the field of battle 
to take a stand upon impartial ground, and be- 
cause I bear a neutral heart to your acts of base 
persecution/' interrupted Striblert in a voice of 
deep anger. 

‘^Striblert, it is basely criminal for an officer 


54 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


to desert his army upon the field of battle when 
shot and shell are falling thick and fast, and 
when he deserts his post of honor for the enemy^s 
gold he becomes a cursed hireling — ’’ 

^‘^St. Clair, you are slandering us upon the 
quicksands of presumption, and the falsity of 
your accusation will inevitably weight you down 
to your political death,” interposed Priest as he 
looked savagely into the face of his accuser. 

^^Then I would rather go down to defeat retain- 
ing the confidence of my people, than to rise to 
high estate on the wings of ill-gotten glory, for 

“ ‘When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, 
The post of honor is a private station.’ ” 

“George, in the fever of your irrationality you 
made allegations that are false. Can you prove 
them?” asked Senator Bradley boldly. 

“Yes, I can prove them, and in doing so I 
shall use your own instruments of treachery 
which, like a thunderbolt, will arouse the nation to 

“Strike — for their altars and their fires; 

Strike — for the green graves of their sires; 

God, and their native land ! ’ ” 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


55 


''You insult me by such a statement ex- 
claimed Senator Bradley as his face turned pale. 
"I demand your proof at once.^^ 

"Then you shall have what you demand, and 
you may take it for what it is worth/^ replied 
St. Clair as he again unfolded the papers he had 
found on the floor. "Senator, these two papers 
condemn you, and it is with a broken heart I 
read them to you. The flrst one is as follows : 

$1500 Waco, Texas, May 10, 

Four months after date I promise to pay to 
the order of Henry Priest fifteen hundred dollars 
at his office in St. Louis, Mo. Value received. 

Henry Striblert. 

"Striblert, I now see why you follow the dic- 
tates of your conscience in pursuing this case no 
farther. I demand that you withdraw from the 
suit at once, as I wish an honest man as my asso- 
ciate counsel. Now, sir, the next paper I have 
here, and which I found folded with the note just 
read, connects you with as damnable a plot as was 


56 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


ever conceived,” said St. Clair as he proceeded to 
read the letter. 

Si. Louis, Mo., April — 

My dear Bradley: 

I regret very much that business has called me 
from St. Louis at this time, as I wished to present 
you to Priest in person, hut I enclose a letter of 
introduction which will serve the purpose. If you 
play your cards well you can secure enough from 
Priest for your services in Texas to pay in full 
your indebtedness on the Gibbons ranch. Wishing 
you success in your conference with Priest, I am 
as ever. 

Your friend, 

David B. Francot. 

*'^St. Clair, the amount loaned Mr. Striblert 
has no connection with the pending suits, and the 
letter you have just read was written by my friend 
Francot, in which he suggests that I ask a suffi- 
cient amount for my services as an attorney for 
Mr. Priest, services which I have rendered hon- 
estly for my client and with true fidelity to the 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


57 


people of my State/’ explained Senator Bradley 
as he lowered his head upon his breast. 

^^Ah, sir, your open fidelity to the people 
of Texas is but a subterfuge, while your plottings 
behind closed doors with monopolies are treach- 
erous — ’’ 

‘^But have we not a right to be represented by 
legal talent?” asked Priest abruptly. 

‘^You have that right, sir,” answered St. Clair 
sternly. 

“Then why do you consider it criminal for us 
to attempt to exercise this right through you. 
Senator Bradley or Mr. Striblert, as our attor- 
ney?” asked Priest. 

“Because it is a crime as black as the waters 
of Acheron for you to enter the ranks of the op- 
posing forces* and seek to transform their trusted 
leaders into heartless traitors.” 

“St. Clair, you are laboring under a wrong 
impression, or rather a wild delusion. The prop- 
osition 1 made you was this: resign your ofiice 
of county attorney, become our State representa- 
tive, and openly defend our interests.” 


58 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


‘^To openly defend your interest would be to 
destroy it, for every thread in that corporate fabric 
is as rotten as the stenchy fibers of a decomposed 
carcass,” answered St. Clair as he rose to his feet. 

‘^Can you afford to sacrifice an annual salary 
of five thousand dollars upon the altar of eccen- 
tric morality?” pleaded Priest. 

‘T cannot afford to act the poltroon, desert my 
people, and damn my soul in hell for all your 
tainted millions,^’ cried St. Clair as his eyes 
flashed the fire of keen resentment. 

^‘Well, what terms will you make?” asked Priest 
persistently. 

^“^No terms of compromise,” cried St. Clair, 
have as much confidence in the integrity of 
you and your company as I have in the harmless- 
ness of a poisonous reptile coiled in the grass 
awaiting to strike its unsuspecting victim. Our 
conference is now at an end. Go, get away from 
here, you brazen-faced, flint-hearted specimens of 
perverted humanity. You will find it hard for 
your velvet feet to kick against the pricks,” said 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


59 


St. Clair angrily as he motioned the arch-enemies 
of his country from the room. 

“Damn you, you sentimental ingrate; if you 
value your life you will place a stiff bridle upon 
your tongue!” exclaimed Senator Bradley as he 
and his fellow conspirators left the office. 

“Is there not some chosen curse, 

Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven 
Ked with uncommon wrath, to blast the man, 
Wlio owes his greatness to his country’s ruin?” 


CHAPTER HI. 


“Oh that my tongue were in the thunder’s mouth! 

Then with passion would I shake the world.” 

¥ TJCILE GRAHAM and her visiting friend, 
Kate Hewett of St. Lonis, were sitting upon 
the rustic bench by the side of the vine-clad arbor 
which occupied a space in the center of the spa- 
cious grounds surrounding the Graham home. 
Lucile was thoughtfully delving into the fasci- 
nating Iliad of Homer, while light-hearted Kate, 
throwing aside the Odyssey as ^^mythical stuff 
which should not be countenanced in this mytho- 
clastic age,^^ was inattentively turning the pages 
of ^^St. Elmo,’’ resting her eyes only upon passages 
containing expressions of the most passionate love. 

During the past week the two girls had been 
busy planning for their party on Halloween eve. 
Each invited guest was to appear as the repre- 
sentation of some spirit; the ghosts of the blest 
and unblest were to mingle together regardless 
of spiritual caste. Uncle Ked, an old ex-slave 
of the Graham household, who for many years 


THE N-QBLEST ROMAN 


61 


had borne a reputation as the matchless archi- 
tect of pumpkin-faced demons, was found very 
handy in preparing these grim decorations for the 
grounds that nothing would be lacking to give 
pleasure to the guests. 

^'Why are you so quiet ? Of what are you think- 
ing?” asked Kate as she threw her arms around 
Lucile. 

was thinking how glorious it must have been 
to have lived in Rome during the days of her 
heroes and — and to have had a brave warrior for 
a lover.” 

^'Oh, my — ni}^ — my ! Talk about thoughts that 
are musty with the moss of antiquity. We are 
living in the grand old present — the age of swift 
chauffeurs and flighty aviators.” 

^^Yes, Kate, in a sense you are right. Our age 
is an age of progress, and our noble patriotic men 
are greater than the Romans ever were, for in the 
hearts of true Texans we find the divinity of a 
Roman god, the bravery of her bravest warrior, 
the strength of her strongest athlete, and a blood 
richer and bluer than the blood of her Caesars.” 


62 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


‘^Suppose we lived then, is it not at all prob- 
able that the men we love now wonld have been 
as they are today, two angry gladiators, hungry 
for the other^s blood?” 

‘^Why so, my dear?” 

‘^Because those we love most are leaders in this 
awful contention, each an adversary of the other. 
On one side, George St. Clair, as the champion of 
the masses — the promoter of the awful and power- 
ful H^ederation of Labor.^ On the other side, 
Hansford Kalab, the leader of the classes — the 
founder of the ^Royal League,’ which was organ- 
ized for the purpose of retarding the progress of 
the masses. So you see, my dear, 

“ ‘On life’s vast ocean diversely we sail, 

Reason the card, but passion is the gale.’ ” 

^^My dear little pessimist!” exclaimed Lucile 
with a laugh. 

‘‘'Lucile, it is impossible for me to be otherwise. 
The enmity between them and the love between us 
often causes me to feel the nearness of the cold 
hand of estrangement ready to tear us apart, but 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


63 


then when I look into yonr face I see the glories 
of a queen and forget the differences that stand 
as a grim barrier between the two men.” 

^^Their contentions shall not be our contentions, 
nor their battles, our battles, for nothing but the 
hand of death shall ever separate us. You are 
a regular old flatterer, but I hope I^m too prac- 
tical for such queenly comparisons, as such pom- 
pous titles are obnoxious to me. Liken me rather 
to a pure, plain Southern girl, whose sole ambi- 
tion is to live so as to bring joy and happiness to 
those around her, showering her greatest blessings 
upon the toiling thousands.” 

Kate quickly looked up, and with an astonished 
expression upon her face exclaimed, ^^What ! You, 
Lucile Graham ! A miuistering angel to the poor 
trash of this country ! Wliat do you mean ? Are 
you going to besmirch the dignity of your father’s 
rank by casting his prestige into the midst of 
such an illiterate mass?” 

could not honor it more,” replied Lucile 
defiantly, ^Tor among the common people are the 


64 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


purest fountains of civic honor; virtue is para- 
mount there where labor inspires vitality/^ 

“But your father’s lofty station in which he 
has placed you as society’s choicest gem rebels at 
such inconsistent sentiment.” 

^‘Kate, you are talking now without thinking. 
Did society from her elevated status reach down 
with her arms and lift my father to the social 
smnmit he has so proudly attained? Ah^ no^ my 
dear. The votes of the common people which 
made my father a judge, placed him there, and to 
them alone do I attribute the honors showered 
upon us from the lavish hand of society.” 

^^You speak strangely, Lucile. I cannot under- 
stand why you have taken this position, unless it 
is because of St. Clair’s influence over you.” 

^^No man has an influence over me,” answered 
Lucile. “My conscience is the only dictator this 
side of Heaven which I recognize, and the only 
mandator I obey.” 

“Has not George St. Clair spent the last few 
months in making passionate speeches over the 
State, agitating the minds of the people by his 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 65 

eccentric advocacies of radical reforms, both com- 
mercial and political?'' interposed Kate. “Has 
he not called for a convention of the laboring 
people in order to organize their several and dis- 
tinct unions into one great federation ?" she con- 
tinued. 

“He intends to centralize the power of the 
laboring people, thus destroying the shackles that 
weigh them down and impede their progress. Oh, 
Kate, I glory in the courage of George St. Clair ! 
My heart shall be forever with him in his endeavor 
to defend the weak^ in his manly struggles to 
gain for them a pre-eminence over their oppressors. 
My sorrows shall enshroud his defeats with as 
much alfection as my joys entwine his triumphs." 

“Why have you evaded an answer to my ques- 
tion?" asked Kate, as they arose from the bench. 

If I have evaded an answer to any of your 
questions, I am not aware of the fact. Ask any 
question you desire, and I shall try my best to 
answer it fully." 

“Why is it that you and St. Clair are both ad- 
vocating the same principles if neither one has 


66 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


been influenced by the other?” asked Kate with a 
broad smile. 

repeat^ my dear, what I told you a moment 
ago. St. Clair has not influenced me in this 
matter; it was I who influenced him to strike in 
defense of the altars of the American home; it 
was I who fanned into a flame the spark of resent- 
ment which smouldered in his heart — a flame 
which I believe is soon to envelop the whole 
nation in its wrath, destroying every barrier be- 
tween the sons of toil and an equitable compen- 
sation.” 

‘^Oh, Lucile !” cried Kate impetuously. ^^How 
can you, the tenderest of your sex, offer yourself 
a sacrifice for the advancement of the riffraff by 
hurling the sphere of woman into the wild and 
stormy waters of political life?” 

^^Duty has called me to the field of action, and 
has animated me with the same spirit which 
actuated the noble-hearted Maid of Orleans — 

‘Tn my mind^s fancy,” interrupted Kate, see 
you robed in glittering tinsels, wearing a plumed 
hat, mounted on a snow-white steed, holding in 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


67 


3"oiir beautifully moulded hand a drawn sword, 
marshaling your stained-faced and rough-handed 
soldiers in their ragged regimentals. I hear the 
sound of a drum, then the tramp, tramp, tramp 
of your degenerate band.^^ 

^‘The picture you have drawn of me is most 
beautiful. Oh, more than that!^^ cried Lucile, as 
she clapped her hands together, ^^it is magnificent ! 
But you have misrepresented the grand army of 
men who are to rally beneath my standard. Pic- 
ture them with brawny arms, tender hearts, with 
a determination to do and dare for the right, 
regardless of the cost of life or limb, then you 
shall have represented in a true light a thorough 
picture of the so-called ^common people^ of our 
country.^^ 

^^Lucile, we disagree as to the qualities of the 
populace; you fondly look upon them as gods of 
virtue and bravery, while I detest them as demi- 
devils. In spite of this diversity of opinion we 
are friends, living so close to each other’s hearts 
that it would be cruel; oh, it would be death to 


68 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


be torn from love’s embrace, and destroy the ten- 
drils of affection that bind us.” 

“For the loving worm within its clod 
Were diviner than a loveless god.” 

‘^Come, Kate. Let’s forget our differences of 
opinion and think only of ghosts and hobgoblins, 
for you know tonight is Halloween eve and our 
party on the lawn must be without a hitch. Let’s 
see how Uncle Ned is arranging the spooks in the 
nook,” said Lucile as she drew Kate from the 
arbor. 

‘^‘Oh, isn’t everything just lovely!” 

As they approached, the old negro, dominated 
by that spirit of meekness and inferiority which 
has made the ex-slaves of the old South lovable, 
rose to his feet with his hat folded under his arm, 
and, bending low the white woolly head, saluted 
them with as much deference as an humble subject 
paying homage to his queen. 

^Uh, Uncle Ned, you dear old soul I” exclaimed 
Lucile tenderly. ^^You have arranged everything 
so lovely. How can I pay you?” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 69 

''Lawd o’ mercy. Honey, youse done done that 
already,” replied Uncle Ned with a broad grin. 

^men. Uncle Ned?” 

''Lawd, Honey, doan youse ’member when I’se 
ailin’ with dat are misry, and tho’t shore Use 
gwine ter die, you brot dat bol o’ chicken brof 
and fed me wif de spoon wif dat ar hand o’ yourn. 
No, chile, I doan disrecollick dat.” 

‘'Uan you guess who’s coming tonight. Uncle 
Ned?” asked Lucile, as her face glowed with joy. 

''Dat nigger across de street sed dis morning dat 
de seminary was gwine to fro up de ded, and dat 
a whol’ regiment o’ ghosts was gwine to come 
a marching right down here. Lawd no. Honey, 
don’t zaxly know all dem what’s cornin’, but I sho’ 
knows who is agwine.” 

"Who did you say was going to leave?” asked 
Lucile as she gave Kate a wink. 

"I is. Honey, I shore is. Dis yar nigger went 
fru de war with Marse John, fit and fot dem blue 
cote Yankees jes like da was nufin, but dat dar 
regiment of seminary ghosts what’s acomin’ ain’t 


70 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


gwine ter find dis nigger here. No, honey, I^se 
gwine to travel. I shore is.^^ 

^^But Mr. St. Clair is to be here,^^ added Lncile. 

^^Honey, I’se awful sorry dat I^se got to go, fur 
he’s one ub dem airaskatic genamen, but. Honey, 
ain’t he done quit a cotin’ you?” 

^^Oh, no. Uncle Ned. He’s been away making 
wonderful speeches to great crowds of people, but 
he’ll arrive in Austin some time today, and of 
course will be at my party tonight.” 

^‘^Ha ! ha! ha! Uncle Ned, you are indeed the 
theologian of the House of Ham,” laughed Kate. 

^‘Well, dat beats me — a theologian in de smoke 
house. What you know about dat?” 

^^Lucile, I must write a letter to father before 
the postman comes, so if you will excuse me for 
a while I shall leave you here and go to the 
house.” 

^Uertainly, my dear, but isn’t there a method 
in your haste ? Isn’t there a lover in your 
thoughts?” 

^^My silence is your answer. Ha ! ha ! ha ! — a 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


71 


letter to Dad/^ cried Kate as she skipped away 
toward the house. 

wonder when he^s coming. He’ll certainly 
’phone or send a note announcing his arrival in 
the city/’ said Lucile to herself as she returned 
to the bench and sat down. ^^Oh, how slowly pass 
the hours as I await the coming of my king — my 
king — my king — the sole monarch of my heart — 
my king — ” 

“No, not as a king, but as a humble subject 
who comes unannounced and unbidden into the 
presence of his queen !” exclaimed St. Clair as he 
stepped out in front of Lucile. 

“Oh, George, how glad I am to see you. I 
wasn’t expecting you so early,” cried Lucile as 
she sprang to her feet. 

“Gee, but isn’t it great to be with my little girl 
again after such a long, long time,” replied St. 
Clair as he clasped her arms passionately. 

“I am so glad you surprised me by coming so 
early, for I was awfully lonesome. My life has 
been one continuous dark night since I saw you 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


72 


last, and never before have I realized so vividly 
your absence/^ 

am glad my presence brings out the stars and 
drives the gloom away. You have promised to be 
my heroine and fight with me the battles for the 
freedom of the common people, and to do this you 
must nerve yourself to endure the dark hours of 
our separation with as much fortitude as the fear^ 
less mariner braves the roughest storm on the 
darkest night.’^ 

^‘^Yes — but unlike the mariner, I brave the dark 
waters of Acheron alone when you are away 
from me.'’^ 

do not understand you, Lucile, your father 
is with us in this great cause of the masses, who 
are joining our ranks by the hundreds. 

"^George, in my home I am alone; father has 
deserted our ranks and condemns you for the 
stand you have taken.’^ 

^^What ! Do you mean to say that your father, 
who but a short while ago was our spirited ally 
has now become our avowed enemy ?” 

^^Yes.'^^ 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


73 


^^And censures my action?” 

‘^Yes.” ' 

^‘Then someone has misrepresented our cause. 
Who has been here?” 

^^No one but Senator Bradley, and you know 
he has always been a defender of the people’s 
interest.” 

^‘Was Senator Bradley here prior to the time 
your father declared himself against us?” asked 
St- Clair nervously. 

“Yes, the day before, but you certainly do not 
suspect him,” questioned Lucile with surprise. 

“Suspect him,” repeated St. Clair slowly. “My 
heart bleeds to utter it; he is false as Apollyon, a 
despicable traitor to his Country.” 

“Be careful, lest in thy anger, thou bear false 
witness against him,” replied Lucile, as she raised 
her finger to silence the bitter words falling from 
the lips of St. Clair. 

“Though I speak with the fiery breath of an 
angry dragon and hiss his name in shame, I would 
not bear false witness against that man,” answered 
St. Clair with much feeling. 


74 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


‘‘What reasons have you, George, to presume 
that the hand which guarded you from a thousand 
daggers of poverty and lifted you from obscurity 
to high honor is now stained with crime?” 

“The words I have spoken against Senator 
Bradley have not emanated from presumption, but 
from facts — ah, facts that almost chill my blood. 
Two months ago in my office he, in company with 
Henry Priest, the president of the Brooks-Priest 
Oil Company, made every move under Heaven to 
have certain trust cases erased from the docket. 
They thought they were playing their game well — 
the black and cold hand of bribery dealt the cards, 
but thanks to God, I held the aces — and won.^^ 

“Won what?” 

“The people’s cause and my own self-respect.” 

After a moment’s pause St. Clair related the 
conversation that had taken place in his office 
between Priest, Senator Bradley and himself. He 
told her of his close research in all matters which 
remotely or directly involved the Senator’s integ- 
rity. As St. Clair finished speaking, a sigh fell 
from Lucile’s lips, a tear di’op glistened within 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


75 


each eye like the spray from Eden^s fountain, 
when it lies on the blue flower, which. Brahmins 
say, blooms nowhere but in Paradise. 

^Tt is beyond the powers of my mental concep- 
tion to understand how you can think that one 
so great and noble could become so sordid and 
fall so low,’^ said Lucile seriously. 

^^Such men my dear, ‘build God a church, and 
laugh His word to scorn.^ Think how Bacon 
shined, ‘the wisest, brightest, meanest of man- 
kind.^ 

“My fathePs friend a traitor ! No, never. The 
handsome Bradley untrue to his people! Oh, 
George ! Your charge is incredible,’^ cried Lucile 
as she disengaged herself from his embrace. 

“What do you mean?” exclaimed St. Clair as 
he sprang to his feet and faced Lucile. “Do you 
believe that I have maliciously slandered him? — 
he the cynosure of all eyes, and toward whom 
some women cast their smiles with as much affec- 
tion as the devout Buddhist who threw herself 
before the wheels of the car that carried the dia- 
mond-eyed Juggernaut?” 


76 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


“I do not mean to intimate that your heart is 
filled with the venom of malignant slander. I 
cannot force myself to believe that the man I love 
is infected with such a moral infirmity, or that 
the lips I have so fondly kissed were steeped in 
the bitter of such a draught. But I was speaking 
from the standpoint of the frailties of the mascu- 
line nature, which often gibes and jests with cruel 
mockery when some mighty genius, blazing far 
above them, breaks beneath the great woes of earth, 

‘And some proud ship goes down at sea 
When heaven is all tranquility.’ ” 

“Ah ! Then you think it is that spirit of jeal- 
ousy rankling as a barbed thorn within my breast, 
that irritates my mind with evil thoughts which 
pass from my tongue as words pregnant with the 
gall of Hydra,^’ said St. Clair tauntingly. 

“No, indeed ! I think of you as the noblest of 
men, and if your heart is as tender and sympa- 
thetic as I believe it to be pure and unblem- 
ished, you would be greater than a king — a god 
among men,^^ replied Lucile as she rose and placed 


THE ]^OBLEST EOMAIST 


77 


her soft white hand upon St. Clair's arm. 
Dressed in a rich princess with white carnations 
entwined in her raven hair, she presented in her 
beautifully curved figure the bewitching charms 
of a Venus of Milo. ^^Grace was in all her steps, 
Heaven in her eye, and in every gesture there 
was dignity and love." 

^^Thank you, my dear, for those words of confi- 
dence, and were it not for the lion heart of which 
you accuse me of possessing, I feel sure my eyes 
would now behold the Holy Grail," laughed St. 
Clair as he pressed her throbbing bosom to his 
heart and imprisoned in his arms the inspiration 
of his life. 

"^This is the very ecstasy of love,", whispered 
Lucile, looking up into his face with eyes expres- 
sive of tenderest feeling. 

^^Sweetheart, I have a secret to whisper to you — 
a secret that burdens and bums my soul," ex- 
claimed St. Clair seriously. 

‘"Well, what is it?" asked Lucile with a startled 
stare. 


78 


THE HOBLEST EOMAH 


^Tromise me, my dear, that you will never 
reveal it until I give you permission to do so.” 

‘^1 shall guard what you tell me with as much 
care as I would protect your honor. Speak, for 
I shall keep it inviolate.^^ So saying, she sealed 
the vow by pressing to her crimson lips some- 
thing fastened to the tiny chain which fell from 
her neck, for 

“On her white breast a sparkling cross she wore. 
Which Jews might kiss and infidels adore.” 

^^John Hewett has placed in my hands valuable 
papers from the private vaults of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company, documents which bear upon 
their face the stigma of Senator Bradley’s dark 
crime of traitorism — 

^^Kate’s father?” interrupted Lucile with a cry 
of surprise. 

^^Yes, Kate Hewett’s father, who a month ago 
resigned his position as manager of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company.” 

‘^Then he has betrayed their confidence — a base 
speculation to say the least of it.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


79 


“Lucile, Mr. Hewett has performed a great 
service to his country. He has exposed the secret 
transactions between the people’s greatest enemy 
and their most trusted representative. By plac- 
ing those papers with us he has enabled the true 
and honest leaders of the people to strike with 
open eyes the source of an awful evil.” 

"^^He is a traitor nevertheless. If a man is mean 
enough to serve the devil he ought to be loyal to 
him, as the code of honor demanding loyalty be- 
tween men of principle is broad enough to em- 
brace the midnight villains who plot together, and 
in common prey upon the vitals of law and order,” 
replied Lucile indignantly. 

“How can you consider lightly the strong evi- 
dence which, without a shadow of doubt, estab- 
lishes the guilt of Senator Bradley? Is it be- 
cause you are blinded to his treachery that you 
do not see the devastation he has wrought ?” asked 
St. Clair sternly. 

“I am not familiar with the nature of the evi- 
dence that you hold as the guilt of his alleged 
crimes. It is enough for me to know that his 


80 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


heart ivS undefiled and his hands unstained,” re- 
plied Lucile irascibly. 

“^Would it not be better for you to acquaint 
yourself with this evidence before branding it as 
the slime of falsity? By doing this, you would 
perceive bribery burst forth in the magnificence 
of a golden loan, and one by one until thousands 
flashed their betraying light into the face of the 
hypocritical conceiver of their mythical existence.” 

‘^Trom what you have just said, I suppose you 
charge the Senator of accepting bribes from the 
Brooks-Priest Oil Company,” said Lucile coldly. 

“Bribes disguised as loans,” answered St. Clair 
with intensity. 

“What necessitated the disguise?” asked Lucile. 

“To save him from a felon^s cell should the 
scrutinous eyes of the law discover his criminal 
acts.” 

“George St. Clair ! How dare you carry your 
evil presumption to the extent of besmirching his 
pure business motives with the vitriol of a malig- 
nant tongue? How dare you designate an honest 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


81 


loan as a criminal strategy cried Lucile as she 
tore herself from St. Claires clasp. 

^Will you kindly explain to me how Senator 
Bradley, who entered Congress as a poor man, is 
now rated in authentic reports as a millionaire?"' 
replied St. Clair calmly. 

''Savings from his salary and law practice/" an- 
swered Lucile at once. 

"Your answer was certainly given unprompted 
by serious thought — "" 

"As your tongue often speaks unguided by your 
heart/" interrupted Lucile disdainfully. 

"Senator Bradley is. now forty- five years of age, 
therefore every year of his life must represent 
an average saving of over twenty-two thousand 
dollars in order now to aggregate the sordid mil- 
lion which he grasps as the price of his country's 
blood." 

"What disposition are you going to make of the 
papers ?" asked Lucile after a moment's pause. 

"Place them in the hands of the Attorney Gen- 
eral as evidence against the Brooks-Priest Oil 
Company and its kindred relations to the Gigan- 


82 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


tic, and also to prove the treasonable acts of their 
subservient ward, Senator Bradley/’ 

^AVhere are they now ?” 

^Tn my suitcase at the hotel, held in an iron 
box with a strong combination lock.” 

“John Hewett will live to see the day when he 
will repent of this foul injustice; he will yet feel 
the stings of his own dishonor.” 

“I am glad that the fulfillment of such ill- 
prophecy does not await me somewhere down the 
aisles of the future,” smiled St. Clair. 

“No, George, I believe the manly qualities 
within you will yet assert themselves and destroy 
the vice-bitten instruments of human destruction 
before they fasten their deadly fangs into the 
vitals of a guiltless soul.” 

“T am sorry, Lucile, that conditions are such as 
to make it impossible for me to acquiesce in your 
desires as to the disposition of the Hewett papers.” 

“Then your words of love and acts of affection 
have been a mere subterfuge,” cried Lucile as she 
sank back upon the bench. 

“Lucile! You have done me an injustice — 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


83 


you have misjudged the sincere acts of my heart. 
I have tried to live so that I might some day be 
worthy of you, and in this struggle to reach your 
side as a peer I must he guided only by the beacon 
lights of duty and listen only to the voice of con- 
science, for 

T could not love thee, dear, so much. 

Loved I not honor more.’ ” 

^^Your delicate sense of honor is only surpassed 
by 3’'our raging thirst for innocent blood,^^ cried 
Lucile as a smile of sarcasm curled her lips. 

^Tf I am as thirsty for gore as the fleet-footed 
hound trailing in the wake of an unoffending 
prey, my name should be repulsive to you and the 
vows at Hymen^s altar little less than the oppres- 
sive oaths of vassal allegiance.” 

^^Ah, those cruel words falling from your lips 
as brands of fire bum me almost to distraction,” 
sighed Lucile as she pressed her hands to her 
breast and looked with sadness into the face of 
St. Clair. 

‘^^Lucile, if I have wounded you, forgive me, for 


84 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


the arrow that found its way to your heart winged 
itself from a bow I did not mean to draw, and the 
tears that course down your cheek gush from a 
fountain I did not intend to open. Again, my 
dear, I say forgive me, forgive the heart which 
tonight feels the awful sting of its own sorrow.” 

^^Burn those papers to ashes and I will forgive 
you — until then, never.” 

^‘Lucile, why do you exact this of me? For 
your sake and for the welfare of my people I 
cannot turn a deaf ear to my countrymen who 
are now calling me to lead them, and thus redeem 
this great land from the curse of trusts and mo- 
nopolies,” pleaded St. Clair as he rose from the 
side of Lucile. 

'"Ashes, — then forgiveness,” repeated Lucile 
coldly. 

"No, never! It is not within possible bounds 
that I turn against my people and associate my 
name with that of a traitor.” 

"If you love me, George, you will do this for 
my sake, for my love, for my happiness.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


85 


^^^Ashes and forgiveness/ you say — ^no, never. 
Rather let it be forgiveness in ashes.” 

“By this, I suppose you suggest the dissolution 
of our engagement,” said Lucile as she sprang to 
her feet. 

“If the sacrificing of honor is requisite to its 
consummation or if a congenial affinity necessi- 
tates the destruction of principle, it is better that 
the ties that bind us be severed,” replied St. Clair 
coldly. 

“My God ! What do you mean ? — what do you 
mean ? — oh, what do you mean ?” 

“I mean that you canT respect and defend that 
man and love me.” 

“You are cruel and heartless, and I hate you. 
I love and respect him and shall ever defend him,” 
cried Lucile with anger. 

“Then our engagement is broken.” 

“Yes, and I return to you this ring. Accept it 
not only as the symbol of our broken engagement, 
but also as a token of a broken heart. When alone 
in the deep of your thoughts should your eyes 
rest upon it, kindly remember the girl of the past 


86 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


who sacrificed the pleasures of your fame and 
glories of your honor, rather than share them as 
the spoils of political conquests or as the fruits 
of moral deterioration. 

“ ‘The last link is broken 
That bound thee to me, 

And the words thou hast spoken 
Have rendered me free.’ ” 

^^No, Lucile, I want you to keep that ring. 
Place it among your most sacred jewels as its 
unblemished purity is emblematic of your own 
life. Each evening before you turn your lighted 
boudoir into darkness and lay yourself to sleep, 
take the ring from its casket, and as you gaze 
upon its fiery flashes, let your thoughts carry you 
back to the past when we were together, and then 
breathe a prayer for the triumphs of the people 
and for the strength and courage of their leader.” 

“Then, George, I shall keep the ring, and in the 
silence of the late evening just before I seek my 
rest for the night, I shall press it to my bosom 
and on its wings of sacred memory take my flight 
to the old swinging bridge that spans the little 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


87 


streamlet which meanders its way through the 
golden sands. I’ll go to where we used to sit as 
we whiled away the long summer afternoons lis- 
tening to the robin chirp the joys of his heart, or 
to some lonely dove cooing softly for its absent 
mate. And as in memory I sit there with you 
by my side. I’ll listen again to the words that you 
spoke when you placed this ring on my finger. 
Yes, I’ll remember you in my prayers; I’ll ask 
God to guide and direct you and to give you an 
understanding and sympathetic heart. Then I’ll 
open the fountain of sorrows and on my pillow 
weep myself to sleep.” 

For a few moments each looked into the face 
of the other, then St. Clair gently pressed Lucile’s 
hand to his lips, and with the silence of one leav- 
ing the place of death, withdrew from her pres- 
ence. Stepping into the closed carriage that 
brought him to the Graham home, he was soon 
driven to the Driskill Hotel. 

^^Alone ! Alone ! At last alone ! But not a 
moment must be lost — I must strike at once. To- 
morrow George St. Clair will place the slanderous 


88 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


Hewett papers in the custody of the Attorney Gen- 
eral, then the pure name of Senator Bradley will 
be dragged in the mire. 0, God ! This shall not 
be. The man who stood at the death bed of my 
dear mother and received a saintly blessing from 
her dying lips shall not be stabbed with the cruel 
dagger of defamation. ITl get those papers even 
though I be forced to fight for them as a wounded 
tigress fights over her defenseless cubs. My God ! 
Give me strength for this undertaking.^’ Lucile 
hurried at once to her room and soon disguised 
in a heavy dark veil left secretly for the hotel. 

“A perfect woman, nobly plann’d, 

To warn, to comfort, and command! 

And yet a spirit still, and bright. 

With something of an angel light.” 


CHAPTER IV. 


\ FEW days before St. ClaiPs visit to Austin 
with the Hewett papers, Senator Bradley 
hurried there for a conference with Judge Gra- 
ham. The Senators face was pale and haggard, 
having the appearance of one wasted away by 
pain or suffering. The anguish that paled his 
once god-like features hung from his brow as 
gathering clouds of sorrow, driven thither by the 
inward storms which billowed the crimson stream 
as it surged through his icy heart. When John 
Hewett resigned his commission as manager of 
the Brooks-Priest Oil Company he took with him 
carefully selected papers from the vaults of the 
company, papers which in the strength of their 
undeniable proof were to play a double part ; first, 
by proving the Brooks-Priest Oil Company a child 
of the Gigantic by adoption, and that it filially 
obeyed the cruel mandates of the heartless foster 
parent; secondly, by proving Senator Bradle/s 
illicit intercourse with an artificial person, whose 


90 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


virtue deflowered by the Gigantic, was at the time 
of such intercourse, a corporate prostitute. 

It cannot be said of John Hewett that a highly 
developed sense of patriotic duty prompted him 
in following the course he pursued. His life 
spent in the employment of the world^s greatest 
trust and for years tempered in that furnace of 
hell, had lost every vestige of honor and principle. 
No wonder then that he had no scruples against 
betraying the secrets of the corporation with which 
he was trusted and over which he had for years 
stood guard. His purpose in stealing the papers 
was as double-headed as the service of the papers 
was twofold. His intention at first was to hold 
them as instruments of duress per minus, while he 
demanded hush money of the Brooks-Priest Oil 
Company and of Senator Bradley. Thus, v»dth 
these powerful documents he boldly attempted to 
insert their dual tentacles into separate and dis- 
tinct sources of corruption — the vaults of a com- 
mercial pirate, and the iron-bound chests of a 
legislative traitor, but this failed to ashen the 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


91 


cheeks of the brazen-faced Senator, nor did it 
intimidate the monstrous giant of the oil field. 

His only alternative now was legal prosecution, 
as through this course he saw with prophetic eyes 
that which pleased him most — a judgment against 
the Brooks-Priest Oil Company, placing its golden 
crown upon an inconceivable million, and, meteor- 
like, bursting into a thousand golden pieces, was 
to fall into the laps of the stern defenders of the 
State, and into the tainted coffer of John Hewett, 
the unscrupulous betrayer of a confiding company. 

“ ‘Who tells what e’er you think, what e’er you say, 
And if he lie not, must at least betray.’ ” 

‘^Graham, we must exert every effort to effect 
an estrangement between your daughter Lucile 
and George St. Clair,^^ exclaimed Senator Brad- 
ley after an hour’s conversation with Judge Gra- 
ham as they sat in the judge’s library discussing 
the Hewett papers, and trying to devise ways and 
means by which to secure them before they reached 
the Attorney General’s department. 

cannot see. Senator, how such a course can 


92 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


possibly lead to the recovery of those documents/^ 
replied Judge Oraham. 

‘^^No, not to their recovery, but as a means of 
suppressing the only available agency through 
which we secure them/^ said Senator Bradley 
nervously. 

“Then you still have hope,” exclaimed the 
Judge with marked surprise. 

“Yes, I have only one hope — we may be able 
to get possession of them by physical force.” 

“But such an action would necessitate riot, 
bloodshed and publicity,” added Judge Graham. 

“Ordinarily, yes ; but the capture of those 
papers will be simple in the extreme. There will 
be no riot, no bloodshed, no publicity.” 

“Eor you to do this successfully is to perceive 
in you a genius, the glory of which would wither 
the fresh laurels of Sherlock Holmes.” 

“By the eternals! I will win that distinction, 
even though there be none but a few conspirators 
to applaud and praise me,” smiled the Senator. 

“When did you concoct this scheme and what 
are your plans?” asked Judge Graham as he un- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


93 


consciously turned the pages of a massive book 
on the table at his side. 

''As you know, I spent yesterday in Houston 
with Hansford Kalab and his father— 

"Had they learned of HewetBs betrayal ?’" in- 
terrupted Judge Graham. 

"They had not until I told them, and of course 
this revelation infuriated them to no small degree, 
as they fear the exposure of the Brooks-Priest 
Oil Company and myself may serve as a search- 
light to reveal a few of their business transactions 
with you as to the dismissal of certain suits, and 
with me as to the defeat of certain legislation — ” 
"Of course they fear the exposure of the bribes 
they so generously tendered to us, as we fear the 
exposure of the bribes we so mercifully accepted 
from them,” again interrupted the Judge. 

"Well, I am sure I have never found a better 
demonstration of mutual misery,” replied the 
Senator seriously as he continued. "This dan- 
gerous condition of affairs resulted in a deep laid 
plot of which we three were the artificers, and in 
order to save our reputation from an awful dis- 
grace it becomes necessary to carry it into action.” 


94 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


‘^How came you to suspect Hewett had the 
papers?” asked the Judge. 

^^As soon as they were missed from the vaults, 
suspicion of course, fell upon him as he was the 
only one with whom they were trusted. Priest 
at once placed a detective to watch the movements 
of Hewett, and as a result. Priest learned that 
he is going to turn the papers over to George 
St. Clair, who is to come to St. Louis and secretly 
carry them to Austin to turn them over to the 
Attorney General. Now, St. Clair will reach here 
next Wednesday, but has no engagement with the 
Attorney General until the next day. As they 
do not yet suspect our knowledge of the missing 
papers, St. Clair will probably not guard them 
very closely; this will then give our man an op- 
portunity to capture them without his knowledge.” 

^^But if St. Clair guards them carefully, what 
then?” asked the Judge. 

^AVhat then?” repeated the Senator. “Why 
physical force most assuredly. With St. Clair 
tied down with a gag in his mouth our man will 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


95 


secure the bundle of papers and reach a point of 
safety before he can free himself and give the 
alarm.” 

''That is all very well theoretically, but in ac- 
tual practice it may be more difficult. The man 
for this work must be brave, quick, cool, and 
deliberate; and above all, discreet in word and 
deed. In other words. Senator, he must have 
every quality of a thorough general.” 

"Exactly so, my dear Graham. Priest has 
already employed our man for this task — a man 
who possesses every quality of which you speak.” 

"How could Priest have selected a man to 
carry out a plot which was laid only yesterday?” 
asked the Judge in a puzzled manner. 

"The scheme of physically overpowering St. 
Clair and taking the papers from him originated 
in the mind of Priest, but he left the construction 
of this plot and the management of its execution 
to us.” 

"I do not understand the connection between 
this plot and my daughter’s engagement to St. 
Clair.” 


96 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


‘^The connection. Judge, is not between the 
construction or execution of the plot and your 
daughter's engagement to St. Clair, but between 
her engagement and the suppression of the plot.” 

^'But even then I see no connection,” exclaimed 
the Judge in a tone of bewilderment. 

Judge ! Forgive me. In laying a. snare to 
catch others I have caught myself. I have par- 
tially revealed to you something I cannot now 
cover up. Again I sa}^, forgive me, if I should 
in unearthing the whole present to your mental 
vision a scene of appalling horror, the thoughts 
of which almost freeze my blood and sickens a 
heart which is yet human — ” 

^^Speak! Senator, speak! Is the name of my 
daughter involved?” cried Judge Graham rising 
quickly to his feet. 

‘^^No, Judge, in this St. Clair only is in the 
scene. Be calm -and I shall tell you all. St. 
Clair, as the recognized leader of the masses, has 
issued a call for a national assembly of all labor 
organizations to meet three months from today 
in the city of Galveston to effect an organization 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


97 


composed of the several labor unions. This con- 
ference is to be known as ^The Emights of the 
Laboring Clan/ the object of which is the anni- 
hilation of plutocratic sovereignty.^^ 

^Tf the sceptre should ever fall into the hands 
of those infernal sons of illiteracy, the crown of 
sovereignty would press the brow of a Macbeth/' 
added Judge Graham gravely. 

‘^Not only is this their policy/' continued the 
Senator, ^Tut it is to be the sense of the organi- 
zation to put to the block every political head 
that bows in submission to any plutocrat." 

''Then I wonder which will be first, the bead 
of a Texas judge or that of a United States Sen- 
ator," smiled Judge Graham. 

"From the present status 1 am rather inclined 
to believe that the head of the Senator will in 
this instance take precedence over that of the 
Judge," said the Senator satirically. 

"Woe unto us should we ever fall into the 
clutches of the masses. A blue-blooded French- 
man under the talon of the blood-thirsty Robes- 
pierre would have a better chance for mercy." 


98 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN 


back to our subject/’ continued the Sen- 
ator. ^^The first move St. Clair will make after 
perfecting the organization will be to read the 
names of those who have struck mortal blows 
against the common interests. From an authen- 
tic source I learned that our names were written 
in this doom book and that they are to be the 
center of attack. Not only is it his purpose to 
turn that rabble against us, but also to bring 
before their vulgar gaze, prototypes of the secret 
preliminaries of our public deeds.” 

^^My God, this must not be !” cried the Judge 
vehemently. 

^^By the eternals, it shall not be,” replied the 
Senator in the same spirit. ^^Now I hope I have 
prepared you for the grim visage of our plot. 
St. Clair must be captured with the papers and 
carried to a certain cave, the existence of which 
is known to no one but me.” 

^^here is the cave?” asked the Judge with 
excitement. 

‘^On an isolated part of my ranch ; the property 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


99 


I bought from Gibbons several years ago which is 
located up the Colorado river near Bull creek "" 

‘^Ohj I know the Gibbons ranch/’ interrupted 
the Judge. ^Tt is located among the mountains 
about twenty miles from here, but I never heard 
of the cave.” 

'T am sure not,” laughed the Senator. few 
days after I purchased the ranch I came down 
to ride over it circumspectively ; while thus en- 
gaged I observed a large rock lying at the foot 
and close to the side of the perpendicular wall 
of the mountain. The shape of the rock and its 
peculiar position caused me to dismount from my 
horse and examine it. After prying for some 
time with a pole I discovered to my great sur- 
prise a hole in the mountain about the size of my 
body, which, upon closer investigation, I found to 
be the entrance to a very large cave. This open- 
ing is surrounded by large trees, and the under- 
growth makes it very difficult to reach, thereby 
rendering it free from observation.” 

^‘So that dismal cave in the heart of the moun- 
tain is to be the rendezvous.” 


100 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


^‘Yes ! what do you think about it asked the 
Senator eagerly. 

"All right, I suppose for the purpose, but 
damn the purpose,^’ exclaimed Judge Graham con- 
temptuously. 

^^Then you disapprove of the plot?’^ 

‘Wo, not altogether. The capture of the papers 
is necessary, else we go to our graves in disgrace. 
But to capture St. Clair and carry him to that 
cave will but add fuel to the flames of our trouble. 
No, Bradley, I am not hunting for a white ele- 
phant to guard in a cave.^’ 

“Neither do I believe in scotching a snake with- 
out killing it — 

“Then you would murder the man,” cried J udge 
Graham. 

“No ! not if he would make the proper con- 
cessions.” 

“What concessions do you demand?” asked the 
Judge with a pale face. 

“I demand that he keep inviolate everything 
pertaining to his capture and that henceforth he 
will not raise his voice against plutocracy. That 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


101 


he will in no way aid or abet the cause of the 
masses, that he will not appear in Galveston at 
the assembly of laboring men, except to discourage 
the organization of the ^Knights of the Laboring 
Clan/ 

^^But how will you bind him to this promise?^’ 
asked the Judge doubtfully. 

^^With his word of honor.^^ 

^‘Then I agree with you as to the statement 
you made a few minutes ago. Trust your life to 
a man^s word of honor given under compulsion, 
and without doubt your head will take precedence 
over mine at the hlock.^^ 

^^Graham, I do not hesitate for a moment to 
stake my life upon the honor of St. Clair.” 

^^You have that much confidence in him ?” 

H have.” 

^^Then we are plotting against one greater than 
a god — one whose qualities of honor are super- 
human.” 

‘‘Men who are impregnable against evil are dan- 
gerous when once their hand is turned against 
you,” replied the Senator. 


102 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


^^Cicero’s fear of Catiline does not equal mine 
of St. Clair/^ said the Judge slowty. “If you 
are going to put St. Clair under unlawful cus- 
tody, then Senator, I wash my hands of the crime, 
as I would rather face the bar of justice with a 
heart stained with perjury and my hands clean 
of murder, than to present them both covered with 
treason and gore.^^ 

“Ah J udge ! it is too late now to show the 
white feather. We have been forced to cross the 
Eubicon. ^Our life is upon a cast, and we must 
stand the hazard of the die!’ In the spirit of 
Cicero, I, too, say, WTien, 0 St. Clair, do you 
mean to cease abusing our patience? How long 
is that madness of yours still to mock us ? When 
is there to be an end of that unbridled audacity 
of yours?’ I listen for the answer, and with an 
echo I hear it in yonder cave.” 

“What will you do if he does not make a 
single concession? Will you keep a guard for 
life over him?” asked the Judge ironically. 

The Senator’s eyes flashed lightning, his face 
flushed with anger as he sprang to his feet, his 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


103 


voice choked with wrath as he cried, ''Woe unto 
him if he makes no concessions. The mercenary 
villain who guards him shall dig a deep hole in 
the bottom of the cave and bury him there. Then 
the entrance will be sealed up, and over it will 
grow the wild vine of the woodland and the cool 
damp moss of the mountain.” 

"Ah ! Your scheme. I see it now. By break- 
ing the engagement between Lucile and St. Clair, 
their correspondence will naturally end, thereby 
eliminating all comment which otherwise would 
pass the lips of my daughter forced by the anguish 
caused by absent letters.” - 

"Such is the motive. Judge, and it is up to us 
to carry this into effect, as I am no more guilty 
than you, neither are you less immune than I 
from the attack of St. Clair.” 

"But my better nature speaks out, and in the 
language of Pilate exclaims, 'I find no fault in 
this man, therefore do I wash my hands of his 
blood, the blood of a just and innocent man.^ ” 
"Graham ! youTe a coward, an unprincipled 
coward to thus sheathe your dagger, and in the 


104 


THE i^OBLEST EOMAH 


terror of your fear offer yourself as a prey to the 
fixed bayonet of the merciless enemy who spares 
not his antagonist,” cried the Senator bitterly. 

may be too cowardly to rise before him in 
my own defense, but I am not so void of honor as 
to stab in the back one so brave and fearless,” 
answered Judge Graham with equal bitterness. 

^Alan’s first duty is to himself, and in exer- 
cising this duty it is often necessary to demon- 
strate Herbert Spencer’s rule of the ^Survival of 
the Fittest,’ ” pleaded the Senator in a milder 
tone. 

‘^Tn regard to the application you have just 
made of that rule, I feel very much like the re- 
morseful Mike, who expressing it in his own 
plain way, said, ^Faith and be jabbers, me ain’t 
fit to survive,’ ” replied the Judge soberly. 

“Do you refuse to exert your influence over 
your daughter in the breaking of her engagement 
with St. Clair?” 

“I refuse to enter the sanctuary of love as an 
evil spirit to estrange two confiding hearts. I 
refuse to be transformed into a demon, and with 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


105 


the red hand of murder^ stab one heart and crush 
another cried J ndge Graham vehemently. 

^^Bnt I demand it !” shouted Senator Bradley 
with fury. 

^^Then emphatically do I refuse to act the vil- 
lain by affording succor to the execution of your 
bold contrivance. I will not do obeisance unto 
Pluto.^^ 

^T shall have my revenge ! 1^11 ruin you 

threatened the Senator. 

‘^^Our crimes against the sovereignty of Texas 
were committed unitedly, therefore they are in- 
separable, and by them are we bound. You can- 
not plunge me into the abyss of doom without 
being drawn there.^^ 

^‘^The people would spare and exonerate me, 
while at the same time they would hurl you to a 
political death, or domicile you behind the bars 
of a gloomy prison. Ah no ! The criminal ties 
that bind us are not strong enough to resist the 
force of the people’s confidence in my integrity,” 
said the Senator dogmatically. 

^‘^You have already been exonerated twice and 


106 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


this mercy shown yon has made yon reckless. 
Heed my words, Bradley, yon will risk once too 
often, then there will be no hand extended to 
rescne yon from the precipice of rnin,” pleaded 
Jndge Oraham. 

^‘Never fear, my dear Jndge,^^ said the Senator 
tanntingly. ^^The confidence of the voter, the 
adoration of woman, and the admiration of yonth 
are all mine. They are the instruments of war- 
fare which defend me against my enemies, and I 
shall continne to hold them as thongh they were 
incorporeal hereditaments in fee simple,^^ replied 
the modern Braggadocchio. 

^‘Bnt when St. Clair opens his campaign against 
yon and brings into the light all that is now in 
the dark the confidence of the voter will be shaken 
as were the pillars of the temple, throngh the 
giant strength of Samson. The adoration of 
woman will be changed into scorn, and she, like 
the crednlons Delilah of old, will shear yon of 
yonr strength-giving locks — ^the people’s confi- 
dence. Aronsed from yonr slnmbers by her hypo- 
critical cry, ^The masses be npon thee Bradley,’ 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


107 


you will awaken to find yourself betrayed and 
your power gone. The emulous youth will de- 
tect in his handsome god the spirit .of Apollyon, 
fthe falsity of Judas Iscariot.-’^ 

^^J udge ! such devity of tongue^ nettles me sore. 
In that campaign neither will you be spared, as 
your crimes will appear as dark as mine. For 
the last time I make my appeal to you. I im- 
plore for the last time your support in the execu- 
tion of the plot. With our hands clasped to- 
gether let us forget the harsh words spoken today, 
as we henceforth battle in common for the heri- 
tage of an unstained reputation to leave to pos- 
terity.^^ 

^^Accept my hand,” said Judge Graham with 
great reluctance and much feeling. ^^You are 
right. For the sake of posterity we cannot afford 
to be ground into dust beneath the heel of St. 
Clair. I shall endeavor to break my daughters 
engagement to this man. I shall attempt this, 
even though I incur the imputation of perfidy.” 

^^Judge, you have by this resolution favored 
not only yourself and me, but Henry Priest also. 


108 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN 


He has again shown his deep appreciation of 
5^our services in behalf of the Brooks-Priest Oil 
Company, hy asking me to present to yon this 
check for five thousand dollars/' replied the Sen- 
ator as he drew from his pocket a check and 
handed it to Judge Graham. 

“Bradley, since our dear friend Priest has hon- 
ored me by presenting through you this most 
expressive token of his appreciation of my serv- 
ices, I shall likewise in return honor him by 
expressing through you my heartfelt gratitude. 
I shall be pleased if you say to him for me, that 
henceforth I shall be subservient to his every will.” 

“I assure you Judge, it is an honor and pleas- 
ure for me to thus serve as the communicative 
instrument,” answered the Senator with the grace 
of a Chesterfield. “Now Judge, since we have 
agreed as to every phase of our plot, I shall tell 
vou our other object for capturing St. Clair with 
the papers. As you know, the primary that nom- 
inated me for the United States Senate also nom- 
inated St. Clair for the State Legislature, and as 
he has no opponent he will certainly be elected at 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


109 


the general election a few days hence. As he is 
already preparing to strike deadly blows against 
us as soon as the Legislature convenes, we are 
forced to take this action and hold him as our 
prisoner in the cave until he, in addition to the 
other demands, promises silence in the legislative 
body as to our crimes. As I have already said, 
should he net respond to our several demands, it 
behooves us in defense of our wealth-gaining pre- 
rogatives to strike with deadly aim the vital cords 
which bind to earthly life the instigator of our 
ruin.” 

will be with you at all hazards,” replied the 
Judge affectionately. 

^^Condition of affairs are most peculiar,” con- 
tinued the Senator. ^^Lucile, the daughter of my 
closest ally, is bound to the heart of my bitterest 
enemy, while Kate, the daughter of the thievish 
villain who follows my trail as some bloodthirsty 
hyena, is the affianced of one of my dearest friends. 
I hope we shall profit by this and be successful in 
securing the co-operation of the two girls as our 
strategists.” 


110 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


After another hour’s conference with the Judge 
in the library. Senator Bradley left the Graham 
home. He had been successful, the dark plot 
had been carefully anchored upon the Styx, the 
infernal crew were awaiting the Stygian flood to 
bear them to their haven, and to carry the 
‘^Noblest Roman” to nature’s gloomy Bastille. 

“To whom can riches give repute or trust, 

Content or pleasure, but the good and just? 
Judges and senates have been bought for gold, 
Esteem and love, never to be sold.” 


CHAPTER V. 


“O comfort-killing night, image of hell! 

Dim register and notary of shame! 

Black stage for tragedies and murders fell! 
Vast, sin-concealing chaos! nurse of blame! 
Blind, muffled bawd! dark harbor for defame! 
Grim cave of death ! whispering conspirator 
With close-tongued treason and the ravisher!” 


\ S St. Clair passed through the corridor of 
the hotel to the elevator on the way to his 
room^ his heart was too heavy and his mind too 
absorbed with the awful thoughts of the many 
changes that had taken place during the few 
short hours of the afternoon^ to notice a well- 
dressed gentleman who sat but a short distance 
from the elevator, and who at this time was seem- 
ingly interested in the daily paper. To the cas- 
ual observer there was nothing in the general ap- 
pearance of this man to attract special notice. 
But to a circumspective student of human nature 
he differed in many respects from the ordinary 
man. His movements were quick and lithe. 
Every sound arrested his attention, as nothing 


112 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


seemed to pass him unnoticed, not even the most 
minute object. He was as restless and nervous 
as a cat when it scents its prey. 

As St. Clair entered his room and closed the 
door, he sank into a chair and burying his face 
in his hands, shifted his thoughts to the lifeless 
desert of profound solitude. There alone, he 
bewailed the cruel fate that tore from his warm 
embrace the plighted bride of his love. “Oh, 
Honor! Thou art my king. I have served thee 
faithfully, I have fought thy cause. Why then, 
in return should you smite me? Why by your 
mandates do you sting me? Ah, Lucile ! Your 
cold inditference, your heartless words, your 
haughty smiles, all unite into one awful force to 
drive me forever from my fairest Eden. Oh ! For 
so little I have lost so much ! Today I arraigned 
a traitor, and as a result, lost Paradise. Tomor- 
row I shall triumph over the traitor, but the gates 
of Paradise will not be opened to me — its domains 
shall never be regained. Oh ! Were I not bound 
to duty — my noble master, I would, as the wan- 
dering Jew, condemned by the purest of earth. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


113 


roam from place to place until the Angel of Death 
tears my soul from its mortal coil, thus setting it 
free from the awful gyves of sorrow and pain by 
winging it to all eternity. But why should I 
think of death as the release of earthly service? 
Such is only the thought of cowards. Forgive 
me, 0 God, for such weakness, and give me 
strength as the leader of Thy children of toil, to 
lead them by Thy mercy from the dark valleys of 
bondage to the lighted heights of social and politi- 
cal supremacy. In this service of Thy people, 
endow me with courage to strike for the right. 
Place in my hand the shield of Thy truth, for it 
is mighty against Thy enemies and the cruel op- 
pressors of Thy people. In the end, 0 God, mantle 
our cause with triumph, crown it with the olive 
branch of peace, and with Thy immaculate love 
and divine wisdom place within its hands the 
sceptre throughout eternity.’^ 

After a few moments more of deep meditation, 
St. Clair aroused himself from his passionate 
soliloquy and bathed his burning cheeks and fever- 
ish brow in nature's cool and refreshing balm. 


114 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


which served for a while to soothe the pain, which 
but a moment before had rankled as a thorn 
within his breast. Just before he left his room 
for the dining-hall he opened his suitcase, and 
lifting up the iron box which held the Hewett 
papers, exclaimed : ^^Ah, by these contents shall 

wrong be righted ; by their proof the trusted 
statesman of today will be the convicted felon 
of tomorrow ; by their silent testimony the thrones 
of plutocracy will be leveled to the dust and the 
sovereignty of the people re-established ; by their 
statements of truth the girl who today cruelly 
wronged me shall see the error of her unfounded 
defense in behalf of the apostate Senator, and in 
her remorse she will banish him forever from her 
virgin heart with as much force as the converted 
pagan casts her idol to destruction upon the stones 
at her feet.’^ The sight of the iron box affected 
St. Clair as though it were charged with magic, 
for a smile played as sunshine across his face as 
he replaced it in the suitcase and left for the 
dining-hall. 

As he was looking over the menu which lay 


THE IsrOBLEST ROMAN 


115 


on the table in front of him, the well-dressed gen- 
tleman described in the opening of this chapter, 
and who might appropriately be styled a human 
phenomenon, entered the dining-hall and seated 
himself at the same table with St. Clair. The 
meal hour passed very pleasantly as the gentleman 
seemed very talkative and exceedingly friendly. 
He asked many questions concerning the political 
issues of the State and seemed surprised when he 
learned that the masses were uniting into one 
great strength to strike in the decisive struggle 
between Labor and Capital. He expressed him- 
self as a sympathetic advocate of the labor cause, 
and in a very logical manner offered several sug- 
gestions as to the best methods of carrying on 
the contest, and advanced a number of theories 
as to the best move in maintaining a permanent 
supremacy when once victorious and in power. 
So comprehensive were his arguments on this sub- 
ject that he impressed St. Clair as being deeply 
informed in the science of political tactics. But 
as the gentleman proceeded with his arguments, 
St. Clair was amazed when he expressed himself 


116 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


favorable to an Ochlocratic form of government, 
as his theorization of the subject plainly bespoke 
an Anarchic source. As they were leaving the 
dining-hall, this gentleman, who at the beginning 
of their conversation introduced himself as ^^Stan- 
ton,” offered St. Clair a cigar, which he accepted. 
As they lighted their cigars, Stanton proposed a 
stroll to the bridge which spans the beautiful 
Colorado, adding to the proposal his desire to 
continue their previous conversation. As St. 
Clair felt the need of some means to divert his 
thoughts from the afternoon’s scene of ^^Cupid’s 
Tragedy,” he accepted the proposal and they left 
together for the bridge. 

^“^As I understand you, Mr. Stanton, I believe 
you declare yourself as an advocate of that form 
of government which is controlled directly by the 
people, and that you consider a representative 
elected by them the master and not the servant 
of the people.” 

do,” replied Stanton. 

‘^^Then, according to your theory, a person dele- 
gated by the people for the purpose of framing, 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


117 


interpreting and executing the laws is the creation 
of a master who, after developing the requisite 
strength for his deputed task, makes a servant 
out of the original creator,” said St. Clair as they 
reached the bridge. 

^‘Yes, upon that point you understand me 
thoroughly. When the Divine Architect made 
man. He gave him a Mind, a Will, and a Con- 
science — the three departments of individual gov- 
ernment. The Mind to Legislate, the Will to 
Execute, and the Conscience to Interpret. There- 
fore, living as we do in an enlightened age with 
an educational environment, three-fourths of the 
people should have a fair conception of the right, 
and would naturally give the offender a punish- 
ment adequate to the crime.” 

^^Do you believe that a brain fired with the heat 
of passion is capable of conceiving justice?” asked 
St. Clair with a smile. 

^^Do you believe that a brain susceptible to the 
influence of wealth is capable of such conception ? 
By answering my question you also answer yours.” 

‘T do not,” replied St. Clair emphatically. 


118 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


^‘^Your courts of Justice are mere institutions 
of mockery — temples where the plutocrat is exon- 
erated and where the innocent peasant is stoned/^ 
said Stanton with much feeling. 

“While some of our men intrusted with office 
have been proven to be criminals, yet the great 
majority of them are honest, noble men, and it is 
through them that the criminal officeholder is 
punished and the high standard of the greatest 
government in the world maintained,” 

“Ah ! They all have their price and are like 
the quadrupedal impostor that draws the sheep’s 
wool over his wolfish form and goes forth upon 
a mission of destruction. Your courts of so-called 
Justice are not even the instruments of blind jus- 
tice, but of open-eyed oppression.” 

“Then you believe in the elimination of all in- 
tervening agencies, and as a substitute to fill the 
gap you offer mob law, or rather, lawless mobs.” 

“ThaJ which a people wills, is right, and the 
best executors of that will are those who will it.” 

“Such is the doctrine of anarchy. Is that your 
political creed?” asked St. Clair good-naturedly. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


119 


favor a government under the direct control 
of the people,” answered Stanton firmly. 

Aristotle brands such a government as a cor- 
rupted democracy which exhibits many features 
of a tyranny.” 

‘^You refer to the words of a man who lived 
over three hundred years before Christ, and at a 
time when the masses were not capable of being 
vested with the powers of sovereignty. Since that 
time, many rulers have wielded the sceptre as 
though it were a sword given them to be covered 
to the hilt with the gore of those who in their 
majestic righteousness displeased the crowned 
Hecate of earthly hells. Was it not the infernal 
demon who in history bears the title of King 
Henry the Eighth who burned at the stake or 
beheaded on the block all who did not recognize 
in him the head of the church and the Pope^s 
superior, and who, as a means to enforce his rule, 
wrote the Six Articles — the so-called ^Bloody 
Statutes T ” 

^^But one wrong does not make another right. 
The right must regenerate the wrong, thereby 


120 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


purifying it as the golden sands purify silted 
waters. One of our own contemporary writers 
speaks of Ochlocracy as composed of flaming 
minds, which execute their wild commands 
through mobs, which are like cotton waste sat- 
urated with oil ; a focused idea causes spontaneous 
combustion.^^ 

As St. Clair finished speaking, a very rough 
looking specimen of humanity drove up in a car- 
riage and stopped in front of them. He made 
several inquiries as to the roads which forked at 
the end of the bridge. In reply, Stanton told him 
that as they were strangers in the city they were 
not familiar with the roads in question. ^^Have 
either of you gentleman lost a letter?” asked the 
man in the carriage as he continued. saw 
one in the footpath as I crossed upon the bridge, 
and picked it up.” 

^"To whom is it addressed?” asked Stanton 
quickly. The stranger took the letter from his 
pocket and read the following address: 

''Mr. George St. Clair, Austin, Texas.” 

"That is my name,” replied St. Clair in a sur- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


121 


prised tone as he stepped toward the carriage and 
extended his hand for the letter. Just as his 
fingers touched the envelope he felt some one 
spring upon his back, and before he had time to 
resist, his arms were fastened behind him with a 
strong pair of handcuffs. The stranger in the 
carriage forced a gag into his mouth, then quickly 
pulled over his eyes a dark heavy blindfold, while 
his confederate at St. Clairs back lifted him 
roughly into the carriage and in a rough, deep 
voice, characteristic of a thug, cried, ^^Now drive 
like hell.” 

St. Clair felt the jerk of the carriage as the 
horses plunged forward. He realized that they 
were being driven at a rapid rate, but as to their 
destination, he knew not. Thoughts passed 
through his brain as flaming meteors through the 
night. ^‘Who are the ruffians that have under- 
taken such foul work? Are they base conspira- 
tors carrying into effect their own conspiracy, or 
is it a fact that they are only hirelings whom want 
and idleness had induced to become instruments 
under the control of a great tyrant, which in 


122 


THE ^^OBLEST EOMAN 


secret planned my destruction and who under the 
dark cover of night are executing the commands 
of a cruel master? l\diere is Stanton? Have 
they taken him too, or did he escape ?^^ 

It was not long until the carriage left the main 
driveway and dashed upon the lonely road which 
wound itself through the various mountain passes 
and amid the tall green cedars. On and on they 
went, much faster to St. Clair than were the 
slowly passing hours, which seemed to move as 
lazily as a large bird on a tired wing. The owl, 
that grim nocturnal bird, the evil raptorial weird 
of the shades, from his throne on some dead limb 
was hooting away the invading spirits of that 
witching time of night when churchyards yawn, 
and hell itself breathes out contagion to the 
world.^’ ^‘The infernal demons of the woods 
raised rueful shrieks 

“ ’Tis midnight — on the mountains brown 
The cold round moon shines deeply down; 

Blue are the waters of the Colorado, blue the sky 
Spreads like an ocean hung on high, 

Bespangled with those isles of light, 

So wildly, spiritually bright.” 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


123 


At last the carriage stopped — they had reached 
their sombre destination. Not a word was spoken 
as they unbound St. Clair from the seat in which 
he was sitting. Silently and mechanically they 
lifted him from the carriage and trudged with 
their victim through the underbrush to the mouth 
of the cave. Stooping low, they entered and laid 
their burden upon a cot. A lantern was lighted 
and St. Clair was relieved of his painful append- 
ages — the gag and iron wrist bands. The band- 
age was taken from his eyes and he saw before 
him the villain who had strategically offered him 
a letter on the bridge. His eyes turned quickly 
in search of the human tiger who had sprung 
upon his back as he reached out to accept the 
letter. His face turned pale and fire flashed from 
his eyes as they rested upon the other demonial 
machinator. He was face to face with Stanton — 
the h5^pocritical fiend of hell. 

For a moment each stared into the face of the 
other, then springing from the cot, St. Clair cried : 
''Ah, Stanton! is that you? What means this 
outrage?” It was St. ClaiFs intention to knock 


124 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


Stanton to the ground, then make a dash for the 
mouth of the cave and escape, but as he drew 
his strong arm back to deal the blow, Stanton’s 
accomplice rushed to his assistance, and wrench- 
ing St. Clair’s drawn arm, threw him to the hard 
rock floor of the cave. Before he had time to 
rise, both men had pounced upon him and in a 
few minutes he was bound with a strong chain, 
the end of which was locked to an iron post placed 
for the purpose. As the cave was cold and damp 
a fire was soon kindled with dry cedar fagots 
which lighted the whole interior. As St. Clair 
was now powerless to act, discretion whispered in 
his ear the gentle commands of silence and sub- 
missiveness, which he obeyed by crawling on his 
knees to the cot and lying down upon it. He had 
often heard and used in colloquies, the slang 
phrase, ^^At the end of one’s rope,” but how true 
tonight was the awful realization of being at the 
end of one’s chain. As he lay on his back, his 
eyes penetrated every recess of this lonely cavern, 
which now as nature’s ^"bastile” held as prisoner 
one who knew not of his crime. He saw above 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


125 


him the hanging cones of crystal, which studded 
gems flashed a lustre over the glowing coals of 
the fire beneath. ''Oh ! How true it is that the 
greatest beauties of this world are receptive of 
so much sorrow/^ thought St. Clair as he gazed 
upon nature in its wildest, yet in its most exquisite 
beauty. "Socrates must have been in the moun- 
tains near a waterfall and beneath the green ferns 
and mosses when inspired with the thought that 
the divine attributes might be inferred from the 
works of creation.’^ 

His attention was now turned toward his two 
captors who were Just entering the cave with 
several bundles. He was startled when he recog- 
nized among them his suitcase and other belong- 
ings. The truth flashed vividly before his mind. 
"They captured me because they wanted the 
Hewett papers. Oh ! But for these chains I would 
strike a death blow. The wretches have stolen 
the evidence that would have made Senator Brad- 
ley a felon. My name once honored by Lucile 
will now fall from her lips with scorn. Today I 
was happy when I thought how this evidence 


126 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


would prove my charges and bring again my lost 
Lucile to the heart that is burning for her. But 
now all hope has fled, leaving in its blackened 
path nothing but the sad remembrance of a ruined 
life. Oh, that my hands were the sharp claws of 
a lion, I would tear open the flesh of my bosom 
and squeeze the lifers blood from the chambers of 
my heart. Oh, Fate, Fate! As a dark cloud 
you have overshadowed the sunny orbs of my 
destiny, and now it seems my lot to be doomed 
to suffer the awful pangs of defeat,’" such were the 
melancholy thoughts of St. Clair as he watched 
the movements of his enemies. 

''Mr. St. Clair, with your kind permission I will 
open your suitcase and search for the papers stolen 
from the vaults of the Brooks-Priest Oil Com- 
pany,” exclaimed Stanton as he stood before St. 
Clair with the suitcase in his hand. 

"Permission asked by a thug like you is only 
a subterfuge,” replied St. Clair with contempt. 

"Then, my dear sir, that which is not permitted 
may very easily upon this occasion be forced,” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


127 


said Stanton tauntingly as he knelt down to un- 
fasten the straps which bound it. 

While Stanton was thus engaged, St. Clair’s 
thoughts took flight again. ^^Ah ! The serpent that 
crossed the threshold of the Graham home and 
charmed the confidence of my dearest idol and 
stung the soul of her father now wraps its slimy 
coils around my body. Oh, Bradley ! Bury your 
poisonous fangs into my life and set my soul free 
from these excruciating pains of mortality.” 

St. Clair watched with intense interest as Stan- 
ton opened the suitcase. His eyes glowed with 
surprise and his face flushed with excitement 
when he saw that the iron box containing the 
Hewett papers was not there. The other pack- 
ages taken from St. Clair’s room were now brought 
before his cot and searched, but the papers could 
not be found. This condition of affairs angered 
Stanton and puzzled St. Clair, for he knew they 
were in his suitcase when he went to dinner the 
evening of his capture. His soul was now filled 
with a bright hope — if the box containing the 
papers was lost on the road, perchance an honest 


128 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


man would find it and return it to the address 
written upon the lid. 

Stanton exclaimed angrily, '^St. Clair, the dis- 
position you have made of the Hewett papers con- 
cerns us materially, therefore we must have them.'' 

With an expression of disdain in his eye and 
on his lip, St. Clair replied: ''Your demands 
without the power to enforce them are as dead as 
an Egyptian mummy, and as fruitless as the 
cursed fig tree." 

"If you value your life above that of a snail 
you will give those papers over to our custody, 
as that is all that will spare your life and give 
you liberty." 

"Then strike now a deadly blow where life 
throbs its wildest," cried St. Clair, as he tore open 
the bosom of his shirt and bared the flesh that 
covered his heart. "Strike! For I shall not 
accept the bribe of a mortal life for that which 
would endanger the welfare of my country by 
blotting out the vestige of crime committed by 
her arch-oppressors." 

"Ah sir, the concealment of those papers was 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


129 


a grave mistake, as your life is now responsible 
for them. The secrecy of their hiding place 
which you have wrapped in the tissues of your 
brain, unless revealed, will be the cause of your 
eternal destruction.^^ 

^^No, never!” cried St. Clair. ^'You cannot 
destroy me eternally. My body may succumb to 
your wrath, but beyond the grave there is a life 
everlasting — a life impregnable, which the fetters 
of captivity cannot bind nor the assassin's knife 
wound. Beyond this world of sorrow there is an 
eternal home for the oppressed who are faithful 
unto death.” 

^‘Damn you ! I haven't time nor patience to 
listen to a theological lecture ; I want those 
papers,” yelled Stanton savagely as he roughly 
searched St. Clair's person. But not being able 
to find them he turned from him and left the 
cave with curses falling from his lips. With the 
exception of the guard, who sat at the entrance 
of the cave with a rifie across his lap, St. Clair 
was alone, and as he lay upon his cot he could do 
nothing but think. As sleep had deserted him. 


130 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


the agonies of wakefulness were now torturing his 
body and soul. From without he could hear the 
^Toud howling of the wolves which seemed to 
arouse the jades that drag the tragic melancholy 
night,” while within, the dimly lighted lanterns 
and dying embers cast a ghastly gloom upon the 
cold damp walls of the lonely cavern, which 
^^seemed a place where ghouls might come with 
their foul banquets from the tomb.” As he gazed 
intensely into the glowing coals he saw embedded 
there a gruesome picture of a happy life in ruins, 
over which a vulturous Senator soared and hun- 
grily pierced the scene with his hawk-like eyes. 
With a sick heart St. Clair turned his face from 
the horrible spectacle and again looked out 
through the opening into the night where a small 
flashing light caught his eye. With his hands, 
folded in supplication and his eyes turned toward 
Heaven, he whispered softly: “Thank God for 
one genial star that rises tonight and smiles so 
sweetly upon a poor prisoner amid the gyves of 
hell, placed there for no crime, but because of his 
obeisance to the call of his country.” He turned 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


131 


his face again to the burning coals and a smile 
of deep affection burnished his pale brow with the 
radiance that emanates only from a holy love that 
is crushed and bleeding — he saw amid the em- 
blazoned embers a fiery prototype of his lost 
Lucile. Tears from an overflowing fountain 
sprang into his eyes as he gazed with fondness 
upon the scene. ^'Oh, Lucile, Lucile! If you 
only knew the injustice done me; if you were 
not charmed with that alluring confidence which 
binds you to the hypocritical and fiendish nature 
of those you trust as though they were exemplary 
gods, you would swear eternal vengeance against 
the sceptre of Bradley and the throne of Priest. 
But now the papers are lost, all hope is gone, and 
my crushed heart is in the cruel vengePs hand. 
Can a wretch like Bradley, Vho shrines his lusts 
in Heaven and makes a pander of his God,^ con- 
tinue to hold an honest and virtuous man in cap- 
tive chains 

A groan fell from St. ClaiPs lips, a trepidation 
of horror passed over him as a flaming serpent 
from the dying embers sprang up and coiled itself 


132 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


around the fiery prototype, which vanished for- 
ever with the last ray of the flickering fire. As 
the lights in the lanterns had been extinguished, 
there was nothing left but the cheerless ash-heap 
enveloped in the darkness of the night. This 
weird nocturnal gloom soon drew St. Clair into 
that unconscious state called sleep, and for a few 
hours he forgot his sorrows and dreamed of the 
fairest of the fair who appeared to him now as 
a beautiful angel wrapped in an ''entertissued robe 
of gold and pearl.^^ 

“Such a maid, that fancy ne’er 
In fairest vision formed her peer.” 


CHAPTER VI. 


“The day is done, and the darkness 
Falls from the wings of Night, 

As a feather is wafted downward 
From an eagle is his flight.” 

'' I ^HE promenades and driveways surrounding 
^ the Graham home were all aglow with 
lights flashed from the eyes of ghastly monsters, 
which seemed to hide themselves amid the ever- 
greens and beneath the climbing vines, for it was 
Halloween eve, 

“And the night shall be fllled with music. 

And the cares that infest the day 
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs, 

And as silently steal away.” 

The siren strains from BesserePs orchestra fell 
upon the listening ear, as magical music of the 
spheres mingled with the alluring voice of Israfil 
and the silver notes of a thousand nightingales. 
The guests were masked and costumed as deities, 
each bringing from Olympus or other abodes the 
emblem of their respective power. The nine 


134 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


Muses from Parnassus were chaperoned by Apollo, 
and were the source of entertainment during the 
evening. But among all the gods, the least to- 
night was the greatest, for Cupid with his little 
bow and quiver of arrows ruled supreme — even the 
thunderbolts of Jupiter did not drown the sound 
of beating hearts inspired by this little god of 
love. Venus, the beautiful mother of Cupid, 
came with the handsome Adonis, while Juno, the 
powerful Queen of Heaven accompanied them as 
the guardian of virtue. Clotho, Atropos and 
Lachesis— the three Fates, came together and 
upon the mortals of earth they breathed a curse 
upon some and a blessing upon others. 

Hansford Kalab, who in his business sphere 
had formed the habit of trying to monopolize all 
business within his reach, tonight entered the 
social Elysium of the gods with the same spirit 
of monopoly and held captive during the evening 
the beautiful Kate Hewett, who appeared as the 
nymph (Enone, while he was the silver-tongued 
Paris and held the golden apple as an alluring 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


135 


tribute to the fairest charms — charms which the 
nature of Kate Hewett did not possess. 

“The fate. 

That rules the will of Jove, had spun the days 

Of Paris and CEnone.” 

But the shadows from the gathering clouds had 
not yet darkened the golden rays of love which 
fell from Hansford^s heart as a jeweled halo upon 
the brow of her whom the decree of Fate had 
denied the golden apple. Lucile, as the tutelary 
goddess Minerva, was tonight the shrine of godly 
obeisance, and all who came within the charmed 
circle of her presence felt the brightness of her 
smile. Little did they dream that those penetrat- 
ing gems of light were only the reflections of a 
burning flame bordering a heart clouded by sor- 
row. Among those attracted by her beauty and 
grace was John Priest, the son of Henry Priest, 
who was present in the disguise of Pluto. John 
Priest and Lucile Graham at one time were stu- 
dents at the University of Texas, where a strong 
attachment and warm affection existed between 
the two ; but because of young PriesPs continual 


136 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


dissipation, their engagement was broken, much 
to his sorrow and to the chagrin of the two design- 
ing fathers. Priest and Graham, who in their wild 
rage for gold, gold, gold, were willing to sacrifice 
the happiness of their children at an altar where 
the fires of love burned not, and where only its 
cold ashes were kept as a memento of the past and 
as an awful warning to the dissipating youth who 
attempts to twine his myrtle with the violets of 
a virtuous love. 

The contriving brain of Henry Priest realized 
the great benefit his business would receive by 
his son’s matrimonial alliance with the daughter 
of the influential Judge Graham. On the other 
side, Lucile’s father was desirous that his daugh- 
ter marry a man of wealth, it mattered not how 
many of the vices clung as parasites to the gold 
dollar, for in the eyes of the avaricious Judge, 
the crowning glory and virtue of a man is his 
wealth. It was of no consequence to him that 
the raw material which produced the pompous 
wealth was wrung from the rags of poverty or 
had gushed forth from a fountain of tears. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


137 


John Priest^s eyes penetrated every recess of 
the grounds in search of St. Clair, the man he 
hated, but he was not to be found. He knew of 
the plot formed by Senator Bradley, Judge Gra- 
ham and his father; he also knew that St. Clair 
was in the city late that afternoon and that he 
would have been present that night had not the 
scheme worked in the complete execution of the 
plot. As he realized his mastery at last over his 
dreaded rival, a flush of joy and a smile of victory 
lighted his face as he searched now for her who 
in the past had bruised and crushed his heart. 

^^Ah ! Here she comes,^’ muttered John as he 
saw Lucile leave one crowd to join another. ‘Tfll 
meet her tonight as a god and in the majesty of 
my power; the fear that I inspire and the gold 
that I give will destroy her affection for George 
St. Clair — that damned peer of the laborer, the 
infernal agitator of the masses.^^ 

^'Oh! Mr. Priest, have the gods offended you 
that you so cruelly isolate yourself from t;hem?” 
exclaimed Lucile as she stood before him. 

^^Oh, the gods, the immortal gods of Rome! 


138 


THE NOBLEST HOMAN 


What care I for them ? My mission is to a 
broader and more pleasant sphere — a sphere which 
receives its radiance from the smile of but a single 
goddess. Come, Miss Graham, and accompany 
me upon this promenade, I am anxious to sp^ak 
with you,” pleaded John. 

^^Thank you, Mr. Priest, but as I am the host- 
ess this evening, would it not be better for us to 
remain in the midst of my invited guests?” 

"As Kate seems to be exercising that function 
in a most captivating manner, suppose you relin- 
quish the hostess-ship for a few moments, and 
favor me with your company.” 

Very well, Mr. Priest,^^ replied Lucile as they 
started for a stroll along the winding path. Soon 
they came to a rustic bench which lay in the 
shade of an old oak whose rugged and stately 
form was em.braced in the soft green foliage of 
the tendril ed ivy. 

"It seems to be the fond remembrance of the 
days gone by that leads us here with its invisible 
hand. The same star that shines over us tonight 
was the one that sat within its celestial orb as 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


139 


an angel of light, and recorded the vows that we 
made to each other during that evening/’ said 
John meditatively as they sat upon the bench. 

‘^Ah, no ! The star that shines tonight, spread- 
ing its rays as a mantle of sweet hope over the 
poor and down-trodden of earth, cannot be the 
brilliant star of that evening whose lustre since 
has been dimmed and whose fires extinguished in 
the deceptive spirits of the wine cup,” replied 
Lucile with much feeling. 

^^Oh ! Those words, those cruel words remind 
me of a thoughtless dissipation and a folly that 
robbed me of the brightest hope of my life, tore 
you from my throbbing heart, and thrust a thorn 
in its place. But even then I could not tear from 
its portals the image of the girl I loved, for every- 
where I went it seemed as though she followed. 
Even into the haunts of deepest degradation her 
beautiful spirit of love and virtue was before me 
as my heavenly protectress ; then I hung my head 
in shame and wished for just a moment of those 
other days. It was the inspiration of your pure 
life that led me from the mire to the mountain 


140 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


pinnacle. Ah Lucile^ that star yonder, so bright 
and beautiful, shines as never before to reflect the 
pure life of a regenerated man.^’ 

‘^John, I am glad that you have resolved to 
battle against the giant tempter whose base mis- 
sion on earth is to destroy the physical man, 
wreck the grand temples of mentality and blast 

to eternal damnation the priceless souls of men 

the spiritual architecture of God,"" said Lucile 
gently. 

""There is but one who holds the destiny of that 
grand trinity of which I am composed, my phvsi- 
cal, mental, and spiritual life; there is but one 
who can lift me from the valley of death to life 
eternal , there is but one who can destroy the 
awful demon that follows upon my path; you are 
that one, your betrothed hand my only defense, 
your pure heart my only refuge,"" replied John 
as the tortures of excruciating agony traced them- 
selves upon his pale brow. 

“The closing flesh that instant ceased to glow, 

The wound to torture, and the blood to flow.” 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


141 


Lucile was silent for a few moments, then with 
a subdued sigh she answered: ^^John, I cannot 
bear the responsibility of so priceless an object as 
a human soul; the brain of mortal man cannot 
conceive its greatness ; in fact, we know not what 
it is, but it is something immortal around which 
the mortal is coiled; something intangible within 
the human breast that is blest of God; something 
that is susceptible to the commissions and omis- 
sions of the mortal power; something that causes 
the angels of Heaven to weep if lost, or to rejoice 
and sing the praises of the Celestial Court if 
saved. The only path that leads to life eternal is 
that which courses through the avenue of prayer — 
the most effectual means to ennoble and refine 
and spiritualize our natures.^^ 

^^Lucile, God never made a more miserable man 
than I. He has cursed me and I am lost — lost 
forever,” cried John as he bowed his head upon 
his breast. 

^^You are very ungrateful to Him for all He 
has done. Has He not lavished upon you the 


142 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


goldei] luxuries of wealth exclaimed Lucile as 
she eagerly studied the expression on John^s face. 

‘^Ah, my wealth! My wealth! My ill-used 
wealth ! The author of my degradation — ^the cruel 
instrument of my ruin. ^Like Phaeton encouched 
in burnished gold/ my soul is being driven to 
the fires of torment, and not even the hand of 
Jupiter can draw me back from the Stygian bil- 
lows — no hand but yours can loose the fetters of 
Satan — no heart but yours can shield me from 
his terrible wrath. Lucile, be my wife and lift 
me to your high throne of purity, there to breathe 
from your hallowed lips the sweet inspiration of 
life eternal. Speak, Lucile, that I may know my 
fate, as your answer will either be robed in the 
glittering sunlight of life or draped with the dark- 
ness of death. 

<( (* * * Restore to earth lost Eden’s 

Faded bloom, and fling hope’s 
Halcyon halo o’er the wastes of life.’ ” 

^^John, forgive me if my answer seems cruel. 
Our natures are so adverse and our goal in life 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


143 


so different as to render tranquil affinity nothing 
less than one great ocean disturbed and tossed by 
storm and tempest. Forgive me, John, but I 
cannot be your wife.” 

‘^Oh, Lucile, Lucile ! Why have you answered 
me thus? If you only knew how every act of 
mine would be subservient to your will ; how every 
thought would be dedicated to your pleasure, you 
would not smite my heart a mortal blow. - 1 have 
but one goal, and that is the great pedestal upon 
which rests the towering column of your happi- 
ness, around which cling the flowering vines of 
your desires — ” 

^^But you do not know the cause to which I 
have offered the services of my life; its victory 
and triumph is the goal to which I have turned 
my face, and the path that carries me thither 
leads over your crushed hopes on toward the seat 
of the reinstated power of the common people,” 
interrupted Lucile. 

^Then you have sworn allegiance to the riff- 
raff and vengeance against the house of Priest, 


144 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


in obedience to the dire commands of the guileful 
and bewitchful St. Clair/’ replied John sharply. 

must insist, Mr. Priest, that you speak more 
respectfully of Mr. St. Clair, as the exalted 
purity of his character does not warrant the thrust 
you have just made. It was because of his stain- 
less life and unselfish ambition that he was raised 
to the grand leadership of his people — a great and 
powerful people— who cannot be truthfully classed 
as the riffraff, but as the bone and sinew of this 
nation. You must remember it was Frederick 
the Great who compared the common people to 
the mighty obelisk, and his words are burning 
like fires of inspiration within our breasts, giving 
us renewed spirit to strike again for the lost heri- 
tage of the oppressed. In speaking upon this sub- 
ject he said: ^The obelisk is tall and slender, 
and yet it stands firm amid the most furious 
storms. It says to you : Ma force est ma droiture. 
The culmination, the highest point overlooks and 
crowns the whole; it does not support it, however, 
but is supported by the whole mass underlying it, 
especially by the invisible foundation deeply im- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


145 


bedded in the earth. This supporting foundation 
is the peonle in its unity. Always be on the side 
of the people, so that they will love and trust you, 
as they alone can render you strong and happy.^ 
“Lucile, I see now that you possess that char- 
acteristic frailty of your sex — a wild conception 
of human nature; a sympathetic heart gushing 
with tears at the sight of the dog that is down, 
and in its delusive state paints the vices of the 
lowly with the tints of virginal and civic virtue, 
with as much consistency as transforming black 
bitumen into the brilliant pearl of Omen.” 

'Tn behalf of the feminine sex I must thank 
you for the lovely tribute you have paid us,” said 
Lucile sarcastically, ^Tut I am at a loss to know 
why those of the opposite sex can so strongly 
adore that mystery of all mysteries— that perplex- 
ing seventh wonder of the world, known, wor- 
shiped, and caressed as woman/' 

Man is strong and broad enough to overlook 
the minor frailties of woman and cling as a para- 
sitic vine to the higher and nobler attributes of 
her nature. 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN 


M6 


“ ‘What peremptory, eagle-sighted eye 

Dares look upon the heaven of her brow, 

That is not blinded by her majesty?’” 

‘^Then your estimation of woman places her 
above an earthly prodigy, and on the fair Par- 
nassian heights shrines her mystic charms as the 
divine phenomenon which attracts and inspires 
men to deeds of prowess/^ 

^^Lucile, let us terminate this cold theoretical 
love which falls from the lips as crisp chaff upon 
a hungry heart/^ exclaimed John as he arose to 
his feet and stood before her. ^‘When I speak of 
woman, I mean you — you alone — the source of all 
my inspiration. Lucile, I again ask you to be my 
wife; remember your answer carries with it the 
occult power of death or life.” 

'T am sorry, John, that you persist in extract- 
ing from my heart that which pains me to utter 
and wounds you to hear — I cannot marry you.” 

For a moment all was still, even the zephyr of 
the night hushed its soft whisperings in conscien- 
tious reverence for the fatal answer which 
shrouded a mortal life. The tossing boughs of 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


147 


the nearest trees were now still, and seemed to 
droop their foliage in solemn meditation. The 
earth^s nightly satellite draped herself with the 
darkest cloud and cast weird shadows of mourning 
over the scene. 

John raised his bowed head and thrust his hand 
into the bosom of his coat. As he withdrew it, 
the polished blade of a dagger flashed before the 
startled eyes of Lucile. The shock was so great 
that her physical faculties seemed paralyzed — she 
could neither move nor speak. 'Hiucile, Fate 
held before me a cup containing the white beads 
of life mixed with the black beads of death; I 
drew for the white, but have received the black--- 
the execution of this decree means death. 

‘For Fate decreed one wretched man to fall.’ 

Now in the last moments of my life Til give a 
tongue to my thoughts and forgive the girl who 
has ruined me, while I curse with my lips, him 
who, serpent-like, has stung my life to death while 
wearing the myrtle crown woven for my brow. 
Farewell, Lucile, farewell forever. 


148 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


The arm was drawn and the fatal stroke was 
descending as Lncile sprang forward and with 
the strength of a tigress wrenched the instrument 
of death from his agonizing grasp and threw it 
into the murmuring stream. 

God ! My God ! What do you mean 
cried Lucile as she sank exhausted upon the bench. 

^T begged for the balsam of love to soothe and 
heal a broken heart, but you pitilessly denied me 
the unction of your life as a balm for mine; my 
soul was parched and fevered, and the agonizing 
thirst for your love transformed me into a mad- 
man; I sought to quench its flames in the potion 
of death which infected the point of that dagger, 
but this last and only alternative you have 
snatched from me. Lucile, you have become the 
evil genius of my life — the torturer of my soul. 
You have stayed my arm but for a moment — 
you have snatched a brand from the burning, but 
it will he thrown back again. I’ll flee from you, 
and when alone, upon the mortal doors of this 
incarnate prison house and give a free wing to 
the fettered soul.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


149 


^‘But is not the mortal life the great battery 
that generates the eternal light of the soul ? De- 
stroy that God-given battery and you destroy for- 
ever the power of hope which gives to the soul 
the celestial light throughout eternity, which when 
darkened is consigned to a state of torture where 
the fires are not quenched and where the worm 
dieth not. Then, again, it is weakness to crush 
the spark of life with the hand of revenge,” 
answered Lucile in a voice mellowed with pity. 

The evil spirit within John^s breast threw off 
its hypocritical mantle and revealed the savage 
nature of the hyena that hungers for human flesh. 
From his lustful eye leaped licentious flames that 
would devour the souls of the chaste. ^^Ah, you 
proud little saint — the personification of feminine 
virtue,” sneered John as he folded his arms upon 
his breast. ‘^1 will then force you to marry me — 
my will is supreme, and yours must he subservient 
to it.” 

^^John Priest, I shall never become your wife,” 
cried Lucile as she sprang to her feet. ^There 
is no power on earth to force such an alliance; 


150 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


there is no power strong enough to fetter me 
against my will/^ 

^^Oh ! The power that shall triumph over you is 
neither physical nor legal— it is greater than the 
two combined; it will take the bloom from your 
cheeks and bruise your heart in a mortar of tears; 
your head will droop in shame upon your bosom 
as the lily that is bitten and blighted by the frost 
of early autumn; society will push you from its 
embrace, and as an outcast you will fall from 
high estate to the depths of unchastity — 

^^You fiend ! You fiend ! What do you mean 
by drying to insult one who has never stooped to 
do you wrong nor to have an evil thought of any- 
one ?’" interrupted Lucile with a smothered cry 
as she sank down upon the bench. 

A vindictive smile curled the lip of John Priest 
as he replied : ^^You are now within my power — 
your reputation is in the balance and I hold the 
deciding weight; you may be "as chaste as ice, 
as pure as snow,’ but if you persist in refusing 
me your hand the tongue stabs of calumny will 
destroy you.” 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


151 


^^You wretch, how dare you enter with your 
cloven feet the sanctity of woman^s virtue, and 
there with a venomous tongue defame that which 
is blest and sanctified of God?” 

^^As the favorite prince of Americans court of 
aristocracy, and as one who hungered for the love 
of a virtuous woman, I sought your realm with 
that chivalry which gilded the age of knighthood. 
I knelt before your throne and wooed for the pos- 
session of that which actuated the wild throbbings 
within my breast; as the result, the portals of 
your heart were opened, and in triumph I entered 
its chambers — the palace where I was king. For 
a season I feasted on what I thought to be the 
god's ambrosia, but soon I realized 'twas nothing 
but the sorrow of mortals. Your balmy smiles 
were changed into piercing frowns, and with your 
sceptre transformed into a lash you drove me into 
the darkness of eternal night. From the high 
throne of the king of love you cast me to the low 
depths of a devil of hate, who wandered as an 
exile amid the crushed hopes of life's nocturnal 
gloom. Climbing back at last to the exalted peak 


152 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


of your domain, I appear before your throne again, 
not with the courtly homage of a prince whose 
heart is aflame with the passions of love, but as a 
poor devil whose blood is hot as seething metal 
with the potion of retaliation, I claim tonight, 
^An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth/ 

Lucile quickly recovered from the awful shock 
she had received, and now realized that this was 
a moment of danger — a moment when the cruel 
instincts of the brute gain supremacy within the 
human breast. Now was the time for action, 
quick action, tactical action, for he now drew 
another dagger from his bosom which flashed in 
the light of the moon the awful signal of death. 
His eyes were two spheres of lurid Are which 
leaped forth like the flames from the dragon’s 
mouth — the issue now was life or death. ^^Oh, 
if I could only wrench that keen blade from his 
hand, I would flee to those who would protect 
me,” thought Lucile as her face ashened with fear. 

John Priest seemed to read her thoughts, for 
in a threatening tone he exclaimed: ^Tf you 
attempt to escape from me or try to snatch this 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


153 


weapon as yon did before, 1^11 plunge it into your 
breast, then into mine, and together we^ll sweep 
the billows of the Styx. I brought you here that 
we might erect a shrine of love, but instead you 
have forced me to make this a place of death. 
Prepare yourself, for within the next few min- 
utes we both must die. Eemember, a shriek or 
a single movement on your part means instant 
death.” 

Lucile was helpless. What was she to do? 
Bending over her stood the ghastly form of her 
revengeful lover with dagger drawn to silence her 
lips should they cry for help. Hope had dis- 
robed itself of its glittering vestments and like a 
winged arrow sped away into the darkness of the 
night to give place to the draped form of Lachesis, 
who seemed to be present as the executrice of that 
awful decree which ordered the severance of the 
thread of life. 

9' 

For a moment Lucile was silent; her head fell 
upon her breast, while her brain was busy. ^Hs 
not God more powerful than the deathly agencies 
of man?” thought she. Then lifting her head 


154 


THE ^^OBLEST EOMAN 


she raised her eyes toward the lighted heavens 
and breathed a prayer upon the soft zephyr of the 
evening. ^^Oh God ! My God ! If it be Thy will 
free me from the clutches of this man. Change 
his heart and make him kind and noble that he 
may become a blessing to his country and an honor 
to his God. Amen.^^ 

This little prayer calmed and strengthened her 
in carrying out the resolution to escape. A new 
thought flashed before her mind. “Ell snatch the 
dagger from his grasp, then flee away.” As this 
thought was conceived she acted upon the impulse 
of the moment, sprang upon her would-be mur- 
derer and snatched the weapon from his hand, 
which so startled him that she was away and from 
under his clutches before he could resist. And 
free at last she made her way back to the large 
circle of her guests, returning in such a way as 
to appear among them before they could detect 
that she was alone. 

At the close of another hour the guests de- 
parted, and Lucile and Kate were alone together 
in their room, one with a heart as light as heav- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


155 


enly ether, with the music of love resounding 
throughout its chambers; the other with a heart 
as heav}^ as lead, throbbing with the fever of 
sorrow and pain which enveloped the ^Tountain 
of Hie/’ 

“0 magic sleep! 0 comfortable bird 
That broodest o’er the troubled sea of the mind 
Till it is hush’d and smoothed!” 


CHAPTEE VII. 


“Cancel his bond of life, dear God, I pray. 

That I may live to say, the dog is dead!” 

A S Hansford Kalab entered his room at the 
Driskill npon his return from the social 
function at the Graham home, he stepped back 
in amazement, and in a tone of surprise and 
terror exclaimed: ^^Great God, John! WhaPs 
the matter? Your eyes are blood-shot and wild 
like those of a madman. What has seized you, 
the mania of love or the delirium of the wine 
Cup ?” 

John Priest rose to his feet and stared for a 
moment into the face of his chum. His face 
flushing with uncontrollable anger he answered 
with a hiss: ^^Damn the vital-functions that 

bind me to the cankered stings of this hellish 
earth.'’^ 

^^Well, I must confess you look like a poor 
devil who had been whipped from Paradise and 
poisoned with that strange and peculiar potion of 
Giove’s sweetness turned to gall.’ ” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


157 


‘^Yesj of the bitterest gall/" replied John with 
a sigh, ^^but its bitterness gives me now a desire 
to live that I may plant the sharp thorns of re- 
venge within the breast of Lucile Graham — 
thorns that shall spring up like dragon’s teeth 
and hungrily destroy her, 

“ ‘Longing they look, and gaping at the sight, 
Devour her o’er and o’er with vast delight.’ ” 

^^But how do you hope to effect this awful re- 
venge ? Does not Lucile Graham bear the repu- 
tation of being the purest of her sex — a girl whose 
character is as spotless as the dews of morning 
that visit the petals of the fairest lily?” asked 
Hansford as he took a chair and lighted his cigar. 

‘^Damn her chastity,” cried John with renewed 
anger. ^^She may guard the portals of virtue as 
the most careful virgin, but I shall weave a 
slander around her reputation that will fall as a 
blighting germ upon the petals of this so-called 
^lily." By the eternals, Hansford, I have sworn 
revenge, and shall not relent until she is the vic- 
tim of my power — the outcast of society — the fair 


158 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


idol of George St. Clair, drawn and crushed to 
earth by the powerful force of a soiled reputation.” 

^^Ah, then the supremacy of George St. Clair 
in the heart of Lucile Graham has actuated you 
with an evil desire to crush the unblemished idol 
of his worship, and scatter its broken fragments 
into the filthy mire of gossip.” 

‘^Hansford Kalab,” exclaimed John as he 
sprang with surprise to his feet. ^^Have you for- 
gotten that I am a Priest — a commercial prince 
whose sire is the world^s king of finance? Have 
you forgotten that it is to this powerful king 
that the common people of this nation must bow 
in servility? For the sceptre of gold is supreme, 
and shall never be susceptible to the stings of 
defeat even though the virtuous ^Joan of the riff- 
raft'^ is burned by the flames of slander.” 

‘^But from the ashes of a ruined life often 
spring forth the awful inspiration of martyrdom 
that recoils and strikes unto death the hand of 
him who was the aggressor.” 

^^But he who strikes first is more often the 
victor. This little finesse of the warfare of hearts 


THE isrOBLEST ROMAN 


159 


shall render my action fruitful, and crown me 
the heroic survivor of the fray/^ 

^^John Priest! You are a human enigma that 
giws more ambiguous each day. Why are you 
now concocting schemes to destroy that which you 
wish to capture? Can the crushed arches of 
feminine intellect, the broken columns of her life, 
or the looted vaults of her virtue bring comfort - 
to your lustful eyes?” asked Hansford with con- 
tempt. 

‘‘What do you mean by such insults?” cried 
John. “My standard of morality is as lofty as 
yours, for you have been guilty of razing the 
moral architecture of woman to its lowest level 
by robbing her vaults of virtue of its most price- 
less gem. I give you now to understand that 
such a moral pervert cannot with safety to him- 
self fling his insults at my feet, even though my 
eyes be like those of a vulture, I still possess the 
talons of an eagle, and shall not hesitate to swoop 
down and truss unto their death those who oppose 
and insult me. Remember, Hansford Kalab, I 
will be Caesar or nothing.” 


160 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


^^Caesar or nothing,” repeated Hansford with 
a merry twinkle in his eye, ^Trom the serious 
appearance of the condition of things, I am in- 
clined to believe the dagger of Brntns already 
rankles in the heart of him who so egotistically 
styles himself the powerful Caesar.” 

^^Hansf ord !” exclaimed J ohn with some degree 
of impatience, “this is no time to make me the 
subject of your mirth. It is easy for you to jest 
at the scars of my heart when you have never felt 
the stings of a mortal wound. Unless you can 
apply a healing balm, then for my sake do not 
infuse a miserable poison which burns like vitriol 
upon the raw surface of my heart.” 

Hansford was silent for a moment as he gazed 
upon the wretched face of his closest chum; 
thoughts of the days gone by passed through his 
mind as sweet memories. His cold attitude 
toward John melted as do the icebergs when 
swept by tropical currents. With extended hand 
he said: “Forgive me, John, old fellow, if I 
have through the agency of passion added fuel to 
the flames which sweep the chambers of your 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


161 


heart and crisp into a blackened char the ties 
that have so strongly bound our friendship from 
boyhood to this hour/^ 

“I forgive you, Hansford, for the words you 
uttered — for the words which cut the tissues of 
my heart like the keen edge of a Damascus blade; 
but remember the hand that is extended to me — 
the hand I now grasp, must be the hand that 
will rise with mine to strike against the virtue of 
the girl who has tonight cast me as a worthless 
devil into the grinds of George St. Clair.” 

^^Then so be it, my dear John. The house of 
Priest towers supremely above the most queenly 
woman, and there is no sacrifice too great to offer 
in the defense of its honor, and it is to you, most 
noble prince of its domain, that I extend not only 
the hand as the instrument of your revenge, but 
a heart to actuate it in subservience to your will. 
But what are your plans?” 

have had no time to formulate my tactics 
for this bitter warfare against the reputation of 
this girl who for the sake of another has refused 
my offer of marriage, but let us bide our time 


162 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


until the fateful moment presents itself, then 
leaving no stone unturned, strike both the heart 
that dared usurp the Elysian domain of a Priest 
and the heart of a maiden that happily submitted 
to the affections of the base usurper and boldly 
rejected the hand of an aristocrat. What letter 
have you in your hand?” 

''A letter handed me by the clerk of the hotel 
when I asked for the key to my room,” replied 
Hansford as he opened the letter. ^^By George! 
If it isnT from Pat Crow, written in the cipher 
taken from the code of the Brooks-Priest Oil 
Company, which reads as follows: 

'‘'Dear Kalah: We have captured George 8t. 
Clair, and are now on the way to the secret cave. 
Any information you desire to give me, address 
J. H. Stanton, Austin, Texas, as Stanton is my 
incognito while in this service. Hand this note 
to John and urge him to Tceep Republish posted 
as to our proceedings. 

Y ours. 


P. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


163 


^‘Who is 'Republish/ that he refers to in this 
letter?’^ asked Hansford as he handed the mis- 
sive to John. 

^^The word 'Republish' in onr code is the nom 
de plume of Americans greatest statesman, Sen- 
ator Bradley of Texas.^^ 

''You are right, John, Senator Bradley pos- 
sesses a monumental intellect and a magnetic in- 
fluence that seems to hypnotize all who come 
within his reach, but he has a heart as black and 
rotten as the charred souls of the damned that 
have burned for a century in the furnace of 
Inferno.’^ 

"Damn his heart exclaimed John with a 
sneer, 'Vho cares about the color of his heart, 
whether it be white as mountain snow or as black 
as a raven's wing? The only attribute we de- 
mand of those who serve our interests upon the 
flelds of legislation is that great incorporal power 
called influence, and for this power we gladly 
exchange our gold. Your father paid Senator 
Bradley a bag of gold for his influence in Con- 


164 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


gi’ess, and as a result he is today styled the Lum- 
ber King of the South.” 

Hansford Kalab folded his arms upon his 
breast, and during a moment of silence looked 
into the face of John Priest with an expression 
of wild delight, then suddenly exclaimed: ‘^^Yes, 
and your father paid a fortune to this incogniz- 
able Senator for his influence in Congress, from 
which he has today earned the title of the Oil 
Magnet of the North.” 

^‘^Then the parallel paths of our childhood have 
now joined, and let the crown prince of Southern 
lumber interests unite with the crown prince of 
the oil interests, and with our consolidated 
strength destroy the increasing power of the 
masses and forever rule as the supreme power of 
the nation.” 

‘^We are the supreme power of the nation,” 
cried Hansford with growing enthusiasm; ^The 
power of the American dollar generated by capi- 
talized combines fetters the hands of the laborer 
and holds his servile strength to the dictation of 
the capitalist. Even the Democratic party, which 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


165 


boasts of Senator Bradley as her peerless leader 
and advocate^ is indeed an unconscions servitor 
of our interests, for she draws her cloak of party- 
ism around him, under which he plays hands with 
his Republican allies and our Congressional ad- 
versaries. The common people, who hate us and 
in their wrath cry out against us, contribute to 
our strength when they clothe their Senators with 
the ermine of their confidence, for beneath this 
official vestment they whisper to us these words 
of encouragement, Tear not, I am with thee all 
the days of thy existence.’ ” 

‘Tes, these Janus-faced Senators are with us,” 
replied John meditatively, ^ffiut their spirit of 
devotion is only actuated by the homage we pay 
them — the homage which carries With it a full 
bag of gold.” 

^^Ah, the influence of those base betrayers is 
more valuable to us than their sworn allegiance 
is to their constituency, for their allegiance is 
the prostitution of a sacred oath.” 

John moved quickly over to where Hansford 
was standing, and in a low tone exclaimed, ^Tet 


166 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


us be careful what we say here; every wall has 
an ear, every window an eye, and every fixture a 
tongue. The truth of the matter is this,” con- 
tinued John, ‘^^Senator Bradley doesnT give a 
damn for this wild and woolly Texas ; his ambition 
is for the supremacy of a larger field — a territory 
that is not bounded by rivers, but by oceans — a 
governmental scope over which floats a flag of 
stars and stripes instead of this limited demesne 
which claims as its emblem a bonny flag with a 
single star.” 

“^^You are correct, old fellow, I heard Father 
remark the other day that Senator Bradley^s am- 
bition had expanded itself beyond the bounds of 
Texas, and it is my opinion that like the majestic 
eagle poised on a high towering peak, he has 
already discovered the richest spots and is now 
ready to take his flight to broader fields and more 
attractive abodes.” 

‘^^Hansford, I have watched the eye of this 
great political eagle of Texas and have seen it 
sparkle most with the fires of hungry avarice 
when centered upon the golden fruits of Wall 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


167 


Street. It is there, in my opinion, he will take 
his flight and build his nest in the higher crags 
of Federal polity; there he is free from the gib- 
ing sparrows of this State; safely refuged from 
the wrathful tongues of a deluded populace.^^ 

Hansford for a few moments studied the wild 
expression on John^s face, then quickly exclaimed, 
wonder how long it will be until the people 
of Texas become aware of the fact that another 
of their gods, attired in the robes of the Judi- 
ciary, has struck a mortal blow against them in 
defense of the Interests?^’ 

suppose you have reference to Judge Gra- 
ham,^^ replied John with an embarrassed smile. 

H refer to the only judge of the Texas Bar 
whose official vestment sparkles with the gold of 
capitalized combines, and beneath which operates 
the machine that generates the power giving to 
monopoly its force and effect — Judge Graham has 
served us well.” 

“Yes !” exclaimed J ohn as he gazed with flxed 
eyes upon the floor, “he has helped to build for 
us the mountains of gold that support our inter- 


168 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


ests, but beyond this he has been powerless; his 
influence has not been strong enough in that other 
sphere — the only sphere of perfect happiness 
where two hearts beat against each other and 
where two loves are twined in one. With all my 
wealth, I am poor indeed — poorer than the beg- 
gar upon the street, for he begs and receives, while 
I beg but only in vain. Think of it, Hansford, 
I, the son of a great oil magnet, holding at this 
moment a secondary place in the affections of any 
girl. Cursed a thousand times, a thousand times 
cursed be the name of George St. Clair, whose 
only distinction is a base notoriety — ^the leader of 
the common people !” 

‘^Ah, tut V’ exclaimed Hansford with disgust, 
‘Torget your defeat, throw off every thought of 
that girl — there are a thousand others that sur- 
pass her — there are thousands like her.’^ 

^^Ah, you are mistaken; to me there is but one 
Lucile, and for that one, that only one, I would 
sell my soul as fuel for the fires of hell if I could 
but give its price for her heart.^^ 

^^John, you puzzle me. But a moment ago you 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


169 


were plotting her ruin, her disgrace, and her 
shame. You are mistaken, you have deceived 
yourself, you do not love Lucile Graham.^^ 

^^How do you dare to presume such?’^ replied 
John angrily as he continued, do love her, but 
I would rather destroy her than see her worshiped 
by another; I would rather see her dead than the 
wife of George St. Clair — the base-born devil who 
egotistically aspires to the apex of aristocracy. I 
would rather see her in unfathomable depths of 
shame than for her to bear the name of the man 
I hate.^^ 

^^John, you are mad, desperately mad, for no 
one but a madman would dare breathe the words 
you have uttered. Like Samson of old who 
wrecked the temple, when you destroy the virgin- 
ity of woman you necessarily bury yourself be- 
neath the mins of a life.^’ 

^^Well, I would be happy in purgatory if I 
could but share its flames with her, for perchance 
I could draw her charring soul to mine and in 
that embrace await the purgation of all our 
earthly crimes.^^ 


170 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


Hansford burst into a hearty langh at John’s 
picture of such an unique reconciliation, as he 
exclaimed, ^^What would you do, old fellow, if 
she should turn you down amid such a hellish 
environment? You would have no other courts 
to appeal to.” 

^Yes! I would appeal to the Court of Heaven 
on a ‘Writ of Error,’ and in my petition pray 
for a golden wing to bear us thither.” 

^Your petition would not be granted,” replied 
Hansford seriously, ^Tor he who destroys the 
virtue of woman must burn forever in the fires 
that are never quenched, while her soul purified 
of its dross becomes a fair winged angel in the 
Celestial Court where the light of day is eternal 
and where Heavenly anthems are sung.” 

^^Hansf ord ! You make me tired; one moment 
you are a cloven-footed devil with every charac- 
teristic of his infernal majesty seeking whom you 
may devour, the next moment you are an arch- 
angel as chaste as the mountain snow. Your in- 
consistency nauseates me and with loathsomeness 
I say, ‘Physician, heal thyself!’” 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


171 


I do not mean to be inconsistent when I 
warn you against wrecking the good name of 
Lucile Graham, for by so doing there is no profit 
for you; on the other hand, when you raise your 
finger against that girl, your lifers blood will be 
sought and shed by George St. Clair to satisfy the 
burning thirst of his revenge. Take my advice, 
John, and leave this girl alone lest you play into 
the hands of one who will grind you to dust 
beneath his feet.^^ 

J ohn threw himself back and with a face 
fiushed with anger exclaimed: shall never 

fear George St. Clair ; he is now within my power 
and before the chains that bind him shall be 
loosed, his blood shall answer for the estrange- 
ment of Lucile Graham from the heart and love 
of the crown prince of the greatest oil monopoly 
the world has ever known.^^ 

^^Our detective was successful in capturing St. 
Clair; his capture means to us a valuable prize 
if we but land the Hewett papers. If we fail to 
do this we have gained nothing — nothing but a 


172 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


Vhite elephanR bound in chains and confined in 
a lonely cave.” 

^^Hansford, our men have not only secured 
George St. Clair, but his grips and other bag- 
gage in which are concealed the Hewett papers; 
without doubt we have accomplished our purpose,, 
and with the Hewett papers again in our pos- 
session, we shall hold forever the only evidence 
against Senator Bradley’s traitorism to the people 
of Texas.” 

^^You have painted a beautiful picture of our 
battle against the people of Texas; with glowing 
colors you have crowned it with laurel wreaths 
of triumph ; with purple you have robed an im- 
perial trickster and saved him from the clutches 
of a people he has ruined, but you have not seen 
the picture painted on the other side of the can- 
vas — a picture painted by the hand of fate with the 
blood of the Interests. When the Hewett papers 
are in our custody and George St. Clair released, 
how then are we going to still his tongue from 
breathing to the world the story of his capture 
and the contents of the papers taken from him?” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


173 


^•You are a fool, Hansford/^ cried John as he 
brought his fist down violently upon the table by 
his side; '^George St. Clair shall never be released, 
for the tongue that would speak against us shall, 
when he has served our purpose, be still and 
silent in the stiffness of death, and the hand of 
murder shall erase the picture drawn by fate, and 
upon the same canvas and- with the blood of St. 
Clair portray the all powerful and ever conquer- 
ing giant — the world^s greatest monarch — the 
people’s most antagonistic power— the monstrous 
giant monopoly.” 

''But who will be commissioned to execute this 
murderous decree from the hand of the blood- 
thirsty czar of the world's most powerful throne ?” 

"Pat Crow, the slickest detective that ever fol- 
lowed a trail; the keen-scented, sharp-eyed blood- 
hound of crimson tracks,” answer John in a low 
but excited tone. 

“If you take my advice you will not make Pat 
Crow a party to such a plot^ for you would be 
forever at his mercy and subject to a lash that 
would cut you into threads. Pat Crow is a vil- 


174 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


lain and would have no scruples against betraying 
you into the iron hand of the law unless contin- 
ually fed upon hush-money/’ 

‘^Nonsense!” exclaimed John scornfully. 
'Tleorge St. Clair must be murdered. The ques- 
tion is, who’ll do the deed ? Will you? Of course 
not. Willi? No, never. Then Pat Crow shall 
execute this decree, for George St. Clair must die , 
his blood alone can quench the fires of revenge 
which burn my heart as seething billows of hell.” 

‘'Then count me out of this game,” said Hans- 
ford with emphatic determination; “I shall not 
entrap myself in such a snare; I shall not jeop- 
ardize the cause of the Interests by placing my 
destiny in the custody of Pat Crow.” 

“Hansford, you are a tender-footed egotist. 
Do you really believe that your doom would affect 
the colossal Interests one jot or tittle?” 

“I am not going to discuss with you the effect 
of my individual destiny upon the balances of 
the Interests, whether it will so disturb the equi- 
librium as to raise the scale in question to the 
vaults of Heaven, or lower it to the deepest depths 


THE i^OBLEST ROMAN 


175 


of hell. It is enough for me to know when you 
share the commission of that crime with Pat 
Crow as your accomplice, the result will be an 
inevitable exilement from the golden throne of a 
proud monopoly to the dark and gloomy cell of 
a condemned felon.^^ 

John looked with flashing eyes into Hansford^s 
face and in an angry tone replied: "Tat Crow 
is brave and fearless — ^you're a cowardly sneak. 
Go ! You miserable poltroon, go to your evil- 
haunted chamber, and in the weakness of your 
flesh tremble for that which is to come, for but 
few days shall pass ere George St. Clair is mur- 
dered, and his blood shall cry out against you, 
and you, you alone shall answer for his death.^^ 

Hansford stared for a moment into the face of 
John Priest; his eyes were like those of an angry 
tiger when ready to spring at the throat of an 
attacking enemy, then with a voice choked with 
fury he exclaimed : ""Use my name in connection 
with that crime and Vll plunge a knife into your 
heart. Raise your finger against the virtue, or 
your tongue against the name of Lucile Graham 


176 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


and I'll kill yon as I would a dog. This, by the 
eternal gods, I swear.’" Before John had time to 
reply, Hansford left the room. 

“Ah when will this long weary day have end! 

Long though it be, at last I see it gloome, 

And the bright evening-star with golden creast 
appeare.” 


CHAPTER VIII. 


“A woman’s rank 

Lies in the fullness of her womanhood: 

Therein alone she is royal.” 

¥ IJDGE GRAHAM had just returned from his 
office downtown, and was sitting in his 
library before the glowing fire which burned in 
the grate. As he watched the brazen coals trans- 
form themselves into golden images his avaricious 
nature asserted itself in a wish, the paramount 
desire of his life — a desire for power to accumu- 
late great riches. Like the tiger of the dark 
jungles which tastes of human blood. Judge 
Graham had tasted of the golden drops which fell 
from Monopoly’s enchanting fountain, and he was 
willing now to even burn his own soul like lumps 
of coal in the furnace if he could but transform 
its ashes into grains of glittering gold. He had 
formed an alliance with Bradley and they together 
were bartering the natural heritage of the Texas 
people for a filthy mess of golden pottage. 

""Ten thousand dollars for my day’s work,” 


178 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


muttered Judge Graham as he drew himself up 
in his chair and with a broad smile paid a silent 
tribute to his individual success — his country's 
ruin. every day was like this one, it would 
not he long until I would bear the title of ^The 
Croesus of Texas.’ ” 

A frown clouded the Judge’s brow as he heard 
his daughter’s words in the hallway; she was 
speaking to Kate, and her voice seemed touched 
by sorrow as she exclaimed : ^^Ah, Kate ! You 

have a vain ambition, ^Vanity of vanities; all is 
vanity.’ Wealth cannot make you happy, but 
may darken your happiness as the tiny worm 
blasts the petals of the rosebud in which it is 
hidden.” 

“You foolish child, you do not know the ways 
of the world and what it loves most. Woman, 
beautiful woman, is the world’s choicest prize. 
Woman with her superb figure, rich attire, and 
jeweled hand is the shrine at which all men bow 
in courtly deference — ” 

“Ah, courtly diffidence, I suppose, is what you 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


179 


mean?^^ said Lucile with a sarcastic smile as she 
and Kate entered the library. 

“No^ Lucile, I meant exactly what I said; man^s 
feminine ideal is an ostentatious woman. 

“Kate, you have not mentioned the grandest 
attributes of the noble woman, therefore man’s 
ideal does not possess them; and if she does not, 
she is an unwomanly woman — a dangerous 
woman ; yes, Kate, a base woman — a vile intriguer 
whose influence robs Heaven of its undeveloped 
angels and demonizes The bottomless pit.’ ” 
“Then, if I have not pictured the typical 
woman, pray tell me who she is, where she is, 
and what she does?” asked Kate ironically. 

“She is a woman with a pure heart; she exists 
among us, and her life is given to the moral up- 
lift of her sex and the establishing of an equal 
standard of virtue; for in the glory of her woman- 
hood she demands that the man she loves must 
be as pure and unblemished in character as she 
herself. Such women are the foundation of this 
government and society — women upon whose 


180 THE NOBLEST KOMAN 


brow rests the brightest halo of Heaven, and in 
whose heart roll the billows of eternal love/^ 
‘^‘^Lucile, your ideals are entirely too exalted; 
in fact, they are too sublime for earthly realities 
and more fitted for romances in Heaven — if Cupid 
has a station there. Look around you and count 
the many Magdalenes and lecherous lords of 
creation, then lower your standard of morality 
that it may embrace the average mortal.^^ 

^^Kate, I am astonished at you,” cried Lucile, 
shall never lower the standard which God Him- 
self has raised — the high standard of purity for 
which Christ died, and through whose blood the 
vile ^though their sins be red like crimson may be 
white like wool/ ” 

^^Do you believe that in all the world you can 
find one pufe man?” Kate asked with a smile. 

believe there are thousands of pure men, but 
shame to the womanhood of this world that there 
are not millions. Shame, I say, to the woman- 
hood of Texas that they do not demand as much 
of the men they marry as the men demand of the 
women.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


181 


^‘You are engaged to George St. Clair. Do you - 
believe that he is as virtuous as you yourself?” 

“Yes, Kate, he is pure in thought and deed, 
and I love him as a pagan loves her god, but I 
have lost him: yes, lost him forever — our engage- 
ment is broken,” replied Lucile as tears rolled 
down her cheeks. 

“Your engagement broken!” exclaimed Kate 
with a smile of joy she could not conceal. ^^iVTien 
did all this happen, and what caused the storm 
which tore you from him?” 

“You remember last afternoon when he called ?” 

“Yes.” 

“Well, I was the happiest of all women, but 
before he left me I was the most miserable. Oh, 
could I draw him into my life again my happi- 
ness would be unbounded.” 

“My dear little girl,” said Kate affectionately 
as she threw her arm around Lucile and drew her 
close to her heart, “tell me everything — confide in 
me that which troubles you — that which breaks 
your heart.” 

“0, Kate, do not ask this 1” cried Lucile as she 


182 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


buried her tear-stained face in the bosom of her 
chum. ^^That which tore us from each other is 
a secret that seals my lips and cuts my heart.’^ 

Judge Grraham heard all that passed between 
the two girls, who had not yet perceived his pres- 
ence, and when he heard of the broken engagement 
between his daughter and George St. Clair, his 
heart throbbed wildly with joy — at last the great 
obstacle was removed which stood as a barrier 
between him and the goal he sought. 

''My daughter! My daughter!” cried Judge 
Graham as he stood beside the two girls who were 
wrapped in each other’s arms. "It grieves me to 
see you so sad. Come sit down and let us talk 
this matter over and see if we can’t find the 
cloud’s silver lining and the bright stars of the 
night,” continued the Judge as he assisted Lucile 
to the chair by his side. 

Kate slipped quietty from the library leaving 
father and daughter alone to discuss matters 
which involved the destiny of a human life, the 
happiness of one so young, so pure, so beautiful. 

"Father, dear, the dark clouds that have so 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


183 


cruelly enveloped my life are not tinged with 
silver light, and the night into which my happi- 
ness has been plunged, has not a single satellite 
of hope to allay the pain that throbs within my 
breast. All is lost, yes, lost in darkness cried 
Lucile as she laid her tearful face against the 
back of the large armchair in which she was 
sitting. 

‘^Lucile, all is not lost; you have gained, gained 
all; for the path which seems to lead you now 
into Gethsemane’s garden of sorrows, leads on to 
Elysia — 

^^Ah, no! Ah, no, to Golgotha, to Golgotha,’^ 
interrupted Lucile with a sob. 

“You are young, my darling, and in a short 
time you will forget your engagement to St. Clair 
as its broken ties uncoil themselves from around 
your heart, giving place to those which are 
stronger.’^ 

“Oh, father, do not talk this way, your words 
cut the crushed heart of your poor child like a 
knife; I shall never forget him — I can never tear 
his image from my heart; for in my thoughts I 


184 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


shall live my life over again and dwell in the 
sunshine of the past — that part of the past we 
spent together, and around which so many pleas- 
ant memories cling. Ah, no, my heart shall be 
forever closed to another, for another can never 
fill its place like the man I love. Never ! Never ! 

^^My child, nature has lavished upon you those 
physical attributes which are characteristic of the 
most beautiful of your sex; has endowed you with 
many amiable and attractive qualities which tinge 
the physical with a glow of unsurpassing beauty; 
these things, together with your father’s prestige, 
have given you an opportunity to pluck the golden 
fruits of this world and become one of the leading 
ladies of America — but you scorned this am- 
bition — 

“Yes ! For I had rather be a doorkeeper in the 
house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of 
wickedness,” interrupted Lucile as she raised her 
head and threw herself proudly back in her chair. 

“We’ll not discuss capitalism from a moral 
standpoint; we have discussed this before, and as 
a result the breach between father and daughter 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


185 


grows greater each time. I heard you tell Kate 
a few moments ago that the cause of the estrange- 
ment between you and St. Clair was a secret, and 
that your lips were sealed, but I am your father 
and surely you will confide in me everything — 
everything that has caused the alienation of your 
affections,” said the Judge with an assumed ten- 
derness. 

^‘Father, I have always been an obedient child, 
actuated in my obeisance by the filial affections 
within my breast, and because of the subordinate 
station a child occupies in the home. But now as 
I sit amid the sorrows of my broken engagement 
with the crushed hopes of life lying at my feet, 
I must be silent, for my silence is actuated by a 
duty as sacred as an oath, as high as Heaven and 
as boundless as the world,” replied Lucile with 
much feeling. 

^^Then you are bound by a promise to keep 
silent; a promise made to the man who has 
crushed your heart, the scoundrel who has made 
a mere plaything of your affections. Is it true 


186 


THE Is^OBLEST EOMAN 


that your fidelity to that wretch exceeds the confi- 
dence you might place in your father ?” 

^‘You have misjudged the man whose love en- 
velops my whole life, a man whose being is more 
like a god than a mortal ; for his life is pure like 
that of a chaste woman, and beautiful in the 
strength of undefiled manhood!” cried Lucile as 
she rose quickly to her feet. 

‘•An eunuch, I suppose,” smiled the Judge as 
he reached over to the table for a cigar. 

“Father, father, you must not, you shall not 
speak as you do about him; you must not assume 
an untruth, even though you hate him, hate him 
for what, God only knows,” said Lucile passion- 
ately. 

“I hate him ! Yes, my child, I hate him I The 
brazen-faced varlet who presumptuously aspires 
to the hand and heart of my life’s idol — the child 
of my own flesh and blood !” cried Judge Graham 
angrily as he sprang to his feet with an expression 
of pain and hatred upon his face. 

I repeat what I said a moment ago, you must 
not use such language in my presence against 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


187 


George St. Clair/’ replied Lucile defiantly. ^^You 
probably have forgotten that it was through you 
that I met him; because of the esteem in which 
he was held by you, that I learned to love him. 
Do you remember how you encouraged his suit 
and advised me to cultivate his affections? May 
I ask what has caused the change in your attitude 
toward him?” 

^^His traitorism — and you know, my child, how 
1 hate a traitor.” 

^^George St. Clair a traitor! My God, father, 
what do you mean?” cried Lucile as the flush of 
anger upon her cheeks gave way to the paleness 
of death. 

^T mean that St. Clair has become a party to 
a conspiracy as dark as hell — a conspiracy formed 
for the purpose of impeding Senator Bradley’s 
rapid progress to the Presidency; and in order to 
carry out this base plot, they find it necessary to 
destroy the political life of this great intellectual 
genius who has risen over Texas as the guiding 
star of her destiny.” 

^^Who is at the bottom of this alleged con- 


188 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


spiracy ?” asked Lucile in a trembling voice and 
with fire in her eyes. 

^^Hearst, the ambitions journalist of New York, 
has bribed Hewett to surrender to the Attorney 
General of Texas documents belonging to the 
Brooks-Priest Oil Company and which in their 
defaced state falsely incriminate the honor and 
integrity of Senator Bradley,^’ replied the Judge 
with feigned emotion. 

^^But why have they drawn George into their 
netP^ 

“Senator Bradley being his foster parent, his 
charges against him will have more weight upon 
the minds of the masses and bring about more 
quickly an insurrection against him; therefore, 
for a few pieces of gold this dishonorable and 
ungrateful reprobate and inhuman creature has 
betrayed his benefactor into the hands of the 
enemy with no more provocation than the Judas 
who sold his Christ.^^ 

“Father, this is too awful to be true; I cannot 
believe that such sinister motives inspired George 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


189 


to strike this blow against the benefactor of his 
childhood/^ 

^^But if I prove it to yon in such a way that 
there can be no doubt in your mind as to his 
cowardly treachery, will you then dismiss all 
thought of him?” asked Judge Graham nervously. 

“Prove it!” cried Lucile, “and I will drive 
him from my heart as I would drive a wolf from 
the fold ; prove it, and I will lift my hand against 
him as I would against a villainous hypocrite.” 

“Now, my daughter, you are talking sense. I 
always knew that you were made of the right stuff 
and that your love for this scoundrel would last 
but for a season — that it would reach its climax 
when your eyes were opened to his baseness.” 

“Oh, father ! You misunderstand me ; my love 
for him shall endure forever, for he is grand and 
noble; yea, a prince among men.” 

“But the proof!” exclaimed the Judge sternly. 

“Prove it, then as I said a moment ago, I will 
surrender all to j^ou; but listen, you can never 
prove your allegation to my satisfaction, for I 


190 


THE NOBLEST HOMAN 


shall believe it only vs^hen I hear it from his own 
lips/^ replied Lncile. 

^‘'Your eccentricity is without parallel; your 
perverse obstinacy is without bounds ; your refusal 
to marry John Priest, the son of a millionaire, 
and centering your affections as you do upon one 
as humble as St. Clair, is like giving up a great 
ship — the golden-plated argosy of the high seas 
for an ill-rigged schooner grounded upon a sand 
bar.^’ 

shall never marry, for the once proud hopes 
of a married life are now in ashes; but from that 
ashen heap, which in the past was fond dreams of 
domestic happiness, shall spring like magic, a 
Joan — the saviour of her people and the liberator 
of the poor and oppressed. Henceforth your 
daughter becomes a leader of the down-trodden, 
their God shall be her God, their pilgrimage her 
pilgrimage, their manna her manna, and at last, 
their Canaan her Canaan.” 

Judge Graham^s face became pale as marble; 
for the first time in his life he realized the loss 
of his parental power and influence. This reali- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


191 


zation was like a sharp-pointed dagger thrust into 
his proud heart. 

For a few moments he stood like a statue as 
he gazed upon the face of Lucile; then with a 
deep painful sigh exclaimed: God! My 

God! Has my child fallen so low and become 
so depraved that she now seeks the level of the 
riffraff? Has she become so cruel as to trample 
her fathers crushed heart into the dust in her 
wild eagerness to champion their cause?” 

^"Father, I would not trample your heart be- 
neath my feet, but if you fling it as an obstacle 
across my pathway of duty, I will overleap it 
and follow the cloud by day and the pillar of Are 
by night, for the hand of God will be in both,” 
replied Lucile. 

‘‘Lucile,” exclaimed her father harshly, “I have 
pleaded with you, but my pleadings have been of 
no avail ; I have tried to reason with you, but my 
reasoning has failed to convince you of your wrong 
course ; and if you persist in assuming the role of 
Moses, I shall assume that of Pharaoh.” 

“Impossible,” cried Lucile in a triumphant 


192 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN 


tone, ^Tor those who rallied around your standard 
in the past and clothed you with their confidence 
and placed upon your brow the civic wreath which 
adorns the Judicial office you now hold by virtue 
of their esteem and love are my hosts, for I first 
declared myself for their cause, and they are too 
brave and chivalrous to desert their leader on the 
eve of battle/^ 

Judge Graham was silent for a while. The 
words of his daughter had cut deep, and his con- 
science now seemed like vitriol to the wound; but 
regaining courage, he replied more harshly than 
before, ‘^^The Pharaoh of today depends not upon 
legions of the riffraff, but upon a mightier 
&trength — a strength that will defy and defeat 
your countless hoards.” 

^‘Father ! What do you mean by this ? Surely 
you would not raise your hand against a helpless 
people — a people to whom you are so indebted 
and who have done so much to honor you?” ex- 
claimed Lucile in astonishment. 

‘^‘^Yes, I mean just what I said, and as a Gra- 
ham has never known such a word as defeat, I 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


193 


shall carry out my plans to the very letter. You 
are trying to thwart the paramount purpose of 
my life — the purpose which has given wings to 
my ambition, hut you shall not triumph over me, 
for I shall conquer even though I be forced to 
invade the regions of hell and battle against the 
devil and his infernal troops,^^ replied the Judge 
in a tone of anger which seemed beyond his 
control. 

''Have you not forgotten that I, too, am a Gra- 
ham? I assure you, father, that as such I shall 
not destroy the glorious precedent of victory which 
for ages has emblazoned our family escutcheon, 
but as the defender of the Graham name, and as 
the deliverer of a noble but oppressed people, I 
shall add a greater lustre to each and save both 
from the greatest depths of shame.'^ 

"But like thousands of your sex you will be 
swept over the precipice of ruin and disgrace, for 
when the fairest of women endeavors to doff her 
skirts and don trousers, she falls like a blighted 
flower.^^ 

"For centuries womanhood has blushed in the 


194 


THE NOBLEST EOMA^ 


gyves of her bondage; for centuries she has walked 
by the side of man, ^something better than his 
dog, a little dearer than his horse/ bnt today she 
is making her exit from the sombre shadows which 
have darkened her life, and with the dawn of 
tomorrow she will be nshered into a brighter age 
and the glorions era of woman’s franchisement 
and the people’s supremacy,” replied Lncile 
proudly. 

“Then St. Clair will wear the royal purple, I 
suppose,” smiled the Judge sarcastically. 

“No! In the government of the people there 
are no robes of purple, and our leaders are pa- 
triots whose hearts are pure and whose hands are 
clean, and such a one we have found in George 
St. Clair — ^the guileless instrument in the hands 
of God to lift the standard of civic morals toward 
Heaven, and place the sceptre of government with 
the pure in heart.” 

“My God, girl! You are blind to the moral 
leprosy which infects the god of your affections; 
again 1 say, he is but the villainous hireling of 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


195 


dark conspirators. His own letter to you con- 
firms what I have said — 

''What letter?"’ interrupted Lueile as the pale- 
ness of fear drove the roses from her cheeks. 

"The letter he wrote to you at the Driskill the 
afternoon following his call at our home, which 
1 believe was the afternoon of the estrangement 
between you and him.” 

"How came you in possession of that letter?” 

"He probably forgot to post it, as it was found 
in his room by the chambermaid after he left the 
city, and was then sent to my office,” replied 
Judge Graham calmly. 

"You tore its seal and read that which was 
meant to be read by my eyes only!” exclaimed 
Lueile furiously. 

"Yes ! A father’s first duty is the protection of 
his child, and in the exercise of that duty I read 
the letter which revealed a scoundrel, and now 
in the strength of a father’s love I extend my arms 
to save you from him, yes, child, from wreck and 
ruin.” 

"May I now have the privilege of reading my 


196 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


own letter?^’ asked Lueile sarcastically with trem- 
bling lips. 

^^Here it is, Lncile/’ replied the Judge as he 
handed over the letter, ^Tead it and may Heaven 
protect yon from the awful blow it contains.^^ 

Lucile’s brain was in a whirl. It seemed to 
her that she had been removed to another world — 
a world of pain and cruelty — a world of heart- 
aches and disappointments — a world of shattered 
roses and evergreen thorns. Many thoughts 
passed like lightning flashes through her brain. 
‘Ts it true that he whom I thought to be a Chris- 
tian is more like a pagan god than like a disciple 
of the guileless Nazarene? Has he betrayed my 
confldence and crushed my heart for a price?” 
With nervous fingers she unfolded the letter, 
which read as follows: 

''My Lost Lueile: I suppose you will he sur- 
prised to receive this letter from me, hut in obe- 
dience to the commands of my conscience, I pen 
these lines. Since I left your home as an evil 
goaded spirit driven from the paradise of my life. 


THE i^OBLEST KOMAN 


197 


my soul has felt the flames of torment, the torture 
of which drives me to an open confession — a con- 
fession which will doubtless destroy my image in 
your heart as your proud ideal and transform itself 
in your mind as the sahled Icnight of Inferno, I 
have sinned against God and man, and last hut 
not least, against the girl I loved. I can never 
expect to regain that which I have lost, hut in 
losing that which I had once gained is to fall like 
Lucifer — never to rise again. My treachery beg- 
gars description and can only he told with lips as 
agonizing as mine. I have entered a hose con- 
spiracy formed by Hearst of New York to rob my 
benefactor. Senator Bradley, of his good name 
and to destroy his influence with the people of 
Texas. For the gold of William R. Hearst, I 
sold m.y soul; for his political influence I bartered 
my character, and as the villain of the plot, I 
entered the arena and assumed my role. The 
Hewett papers which were the cause of our sev- 
ered engagement were as false as dicer oaths, and 
when I placed them in the custody of the Attorney 
General, I by that act thrust the dagger of falsity 


198 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


into the political heart of a pure and undefiled 
statesman. My God! My God! If I could hut 
snatch them hack and take my place again amid 
the rank and file of my people and occupy again 
the heart I have so misused, I would he the hap- 
piest man in the world; hut for me there can he 
no Paradise regained, for I am now too unworthy 
to enter that sanctuary again and claim its prize, 
hut I shall seek some lonely spot and there, where 
no eye may see, or where no ear may hear, disrobe 
myself of this mortal coil and enter that region 
where souls are purged of their blackest sins. 
Forgive me, Lucile, and in your prayers ask God 
to he merciful to me — the red-handed Iscariot — 
the black-hearted traitor. Fare thee well. 

GeorgeP 

The letter fell to the floor as Lucile with wild 
eyes and quivering lips stared into the flushed 
face of her father. For a moment all was as still 
as the awful calm which precedes the crash of 
the storm, then she closed her eyes for a few sec- 
onds and in that optical darkness, saw the man 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


199 


she trusted and loved tear away the hypocritical 
vestment of truth, and in the revelation of his 
sordidness rend her tender heart like the bolt of 
the thunder which shatters the boughs of the oak. 
This mental portrait of her untrue and deceitful 
loved one was indeed a great contrast to her 
ideal lover of yesterday, ‘^Vhose words were bonds, 
whose oaths were oracles, whose love was sincere, 
whose thoughts were immaculate.” In her love 
of the past, she had pictured his throne upon pin- 
nacles that were lofty and stately, but now in 
her scorn, she gazed upon the ruins of that throne 
which lay in the miry depths of dishonor. 

Lucile sprang to her feet as her hand clutched 
the golden chain encircling her soft white neck, 
and with a maddened jerk, broke its connecting 
link and threw it with its gold cross upon the 
floor at her feet. ^^Traitor! Traitor that you 
are ! Take back this remembrance that you gave 
me, and in the remorse of your conscience look 
upon that little cross and let it remind you of 
the one upon which Immanuel gave his life for 


200 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


the poor and oppressed of the world F cried Lu- 
cile as her eyes rested upon the chain. 

^^Lncile!” exclaimed Judge Graham as he arose 
and drew his daughter to him, glory in your 
resentment, and it fills my heart with pride to 
see my own child in the strength of her nohle 
womanhood lift herself from amid the ruins of a 
broken heart and conquer a sorrow that would 
otherwise devour her.^^ 

‘^‘Father, it is hard to tear away from the ruins 
of a temple I had loved — a temple whose builder 
and maker was God, but whose destroyer is the 
host of hell. My purpose in life calls me onward, 
and to the cause that is dearer than my life, 
dearer by far than ten thousand lives, I answer 
ready, ready as a brave soldier for battle.” 

^‘What cause, my child? T^Tiat battle?” 

^^Father, I have often told you about the cause 
I was born to lead, the grand cause of the masses, 
and as their leader, I draw up our lines for battle 
in our warfare for natural rights and equal lib- 
erties.” 

^^hat !” exclaimed J udge Graham in surprise. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


201 


“Is it true that you still nourish this dogma, within 
your hreast ? That since the betrayal of St. Clair 
and his open, yet cowardly confession, you are still 
determined to follow a course and champion a 
cause which receives its inspiration and vitality 
from dark plots of base conspirators?^’ 

“I know what you mean, father; your love for 
Senator Bradley has created a fear within you 
that the masses will rise and in their madness 
for supremacy, disregard reason and destroy the 
good name of Senator Bradle}^,” replied Lucile 
as she threw her arms around her father’s neck. 

“Yes, Lucile, this awful apprehension has 
robbed my last few nights of sleep and — ” 

Judge Graham did not finish the sentence, his 
face flushed as he realized that he had spoken of 
that which he should not have even breathed — 
that which connected him and Senator Bradley 
with crime against their State. 

Lucile did not notice this, as her confidence 
in her father was unbounded, and she attributed 
his loss of sleep to the great friendship that 
existed between him and Senator Bradley. “My 


202 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


dear father_, I see that you have a wrong" concep- 
tion of the masses, their ways and natures; they 
are not a radical, narrow-minded people who go 
off at a tangent, but a people who have a k^en 
sense of right and wrong, who would give their 
lives to enforce the former, or die in the attempt 
to crush the latter. Therefore, I shall arm my- 
self with proof of Senator Bradley^s innocence, 
and with the confession of George St. Clair, reveal 
the truth and save an honored name from the 
pits of shame and disgrace.” 

Judge Graham pressed his daughter closer to 
his heart, and in words of deep emotion replied, 
^^My child, the chasm St. Clair created and which 
he caused to yawn between us is now closed, and 
may God forbid that it ever be reopened to sep- 
arate a father from his child. Go, my daughter, 
to the defense of Senator Bradley, and Texas will 
honor you, and her children in years to come 
will rise up and call you blessed.” 

‘Tather, dear, I bury the past in forgetful- 
ness,” answered Lucile as she kissed his lips. 

Stooping down she lifted up the little gold cross 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN - 


203 


and held it between her fingers. this sign 

I conquer_, the cross of Calvary shall guide me to 
a triumphant goal.^^ 

‘‘A spirit pure as hers, 

Is always pure, even while it errs: 

As sunshine, broken in the rill. 

Though turned astray, is sunshine still.” 


CHAPTEE IX. 


“0 serpent heart, hid with a flow’ring face! 

Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave? 

Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical! 

Dove-feather’d raven! wolfish-ravening lamb! 
Despised substance of divinest show! 

Just opposite to what thou justly seem’st, 

A damned saint, an honorable villain!” 

HE night through which Lucile had just 



^ passed seemed to her as a dark and awful 
eternity. In her vain endeavor to forget the one 
who had for so long been the object of her love — 
the shrine on which she placed her heart, she was 
drawn by the awful force of memory, back along 
the paths to the overflowing fountains where two 
thirsty hearts drank their All of life’s sweetest 
elixir. Her mental faculties seemed dead and 
inoperative when she tried to picture G-eorge St. 
Clair as a traitor, a betrayer, or a base and avari- 
cious conspirator having more hope in the dollar 
than in the consummate fruits of honor and pur- 
ity. She could only see him as she had known 
him, handsome as a god, noble and grand as a 
true patriot, with a love as pure and tender as 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


205 


that of a chaste woman. These were the thoughts 
that caused the tears to flow as a bitter stream 
of sorrow from the fullness of a bruised and 
agonizing hearty tears of loneliness and despair 
that moistened her pillow, and bedewed her raven 
hair like the crystal gems of the morning as they 
sparkle from the foliage. 

Just before the gray streaks of dawn had in- 
vaded the darkness of the night, Lucile saw the 
glimmer of a little star of hope as it burst from 
the sable drapery of the sky, sending its rays upon 
a mission of cheer and comfort. “Probably he 
has not carried out his cruel intentions of self- 
destruction,^’ thought Lucile. “He may be living 
at this moment, sleepless and restless in the humil- 
ity of his repentance. If he erred, it may have 
been thoughtlessness, for his heart was too pure 
and noble, and his thoughts too divine to conceive 
such a crime; his actions too much like a god to 
give it birth.” 

With these thoughts she fell asleep, and if 
mortal eyes could perceive the things that are 
spiritual, they doubtless would have seen some 


306 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


favorite angel of God wing itself from Heaven’s 
court to her couch^ and stooping down, kiss away 
the tears from her pale brow, leaving in their 
stead a smile of peace and contentment as she 
dreamed of her hero-lover during the years that 
had passed. It was late in the day when she 
awoke from her slumbers. Not a sound could he 
heard ; everything was as still as though the death 
angel had descended and had struck every mem- 
ber of the household a mortal blow. A heaviness 
she had never felt before seemed to oppress her 
with a sickening dread of sorrows to come. 

Lucile dressed hurriedly and went down to the 
library. As she entered she saw her father lay 
the morning paper upon the table and turn to 
greet her. His manner toward her was strange, 
while the expression upon his face puzzled her. 
Kate was seemingly interested in the book upon 
her lap, and a few moments elapsed before she 
spoke, but Lucile noticed a strange difference be- 
tween her greeting this morning as compared to 
those of other mornings. She was quick to per- 
ceive this unusual strangeness of her father and 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


207 


Kate, which led her at once to believe that some- 
thing was wrong, seriously wrong, and for a min- 
ute she gazed meditatively upon the fiery embers 
in the grate before she could find courage to speak, 
but regaining her physical and mental faculties — 
faculties that were strong attributes of her glo- 
rious and wonderful womanhood, she exclaimed, 
‘^What has happened 

“My child, why do you ask this replied Judge 
Graham with feigned surprise. 

“I spent a most miserable night,^^ replied Lucile 
as she continued; “an awful fear seemed to hover 
over me, and like a thief robbed me of my sleep, 
but finally I conquered what I thought was a weak- 
ness, and before daylight I passed into a deep 
slumber, but this did not last long as I was awak- 
ened by that same fear which seemed to be clutch- 
ing at my heart. I arose quickly and after dress- 
ing hastily, hurried to the library in order to 
escape the gloom which seemed to envelope my 
whole life, but instead of escaping, I’ find here 
written upon the faces of both of you the con- 
firmation of that which haunted my night like 


208 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


the dark sceptre of death. Speak! Tell me all; 
something awful has happened.” 

^^Lucile !” exclaimed the J udge after a pause, 
^‘you are right ; something has happened. Themis 
has balanced an account upon her ledger; one of 
her debtors has paid his debt; ^an eye for an eye 
and a tooth for a tooth^; this debtor was George 
St. Clair, who sowed the seeds of human destruc- 
tion, and last night, beneath the angry waters of 
the Colorado, reaped the harvest he had sown. 
You will find a full account of the tragedy in the 
morning paper here upon the table.” 

As J udge Graham finished speaking, he left the ‘ 
room. 

With a heartbroken shriek, Lucile fell into the 
arms of her companion, Kate Hewett, and there 
in the agony of a shattered heart drank from the 
chalice of life its bitter dregs of sorrow. 

For an hour she sobbed upon Kate’s breast, 
and at intervals recalled the many happy hours 
spent with him who was now no more; how she 
had often looked with admiration into his noble 
face with as much pride as the daughters of Rome 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


209 


kissed the civic crowns of their hero-lovers; how 
she had planned with him for a grand crusade in 
the interest of the laboring class, and against their 
oppressors. She thought of the seven little vio- 
lets he had given her the day of their engagement, 
which she had pressed and kept that she might 
fulfill the wish he made as he placed the diamond 
upon her finger, a wish that she preserve the 
violets until the first laurels of honor had pressed 
his brow, then with her own fingers, pin them 
upon the lapel of his coat. These thoughts caused 
the fountain of tears to reopen and gush afresh. 
Kate tried in many ways to console and comfort 
her, but her words could not penetrate that depth 
of her soul where the waves of sorrow billowed 
like an angry sea, and the storm within her bosom 
raged until at last it had spent its force; then 
becoming calm, she arose from Kate’s embrace and 
opened the morning paper to read the account of 
George St. Clair’s death. Her eyes fell upon the 
large headlines. 


3J0 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


“geoege ST. olaik commits suicide by 

DROWNING.” 

With burning cheeks she read as follows : 

^^Last night about eight-thirty, George St. Clair, 
the well known leader of the laboring forces of 
this State, committed suicide by drowning in the 
Colorado river just below the old dam site. No 
one saw him commit the act, and the first evi- 
dence of the tragedy was an unoccupied boat drift- 
ing down the stream which was caught by a party 
of pleasure seekers, who were rowing upon the 
lake at the time. Upon investigation they found 
a note in the boat, which read as follows : 

"To the Laboring Forces of Texas: I once 
had the distinction of being the leader of your 
great army, the grandest and greatest army that 
was ever marshalled upon a civic battlefield. By 
brave encounters with the enemy and by fearless 
stands in defense of those principles I hnew were 
right, I won your love, your confidence, and your 
esteem; but the awful passion for gold burned 
like a consuming fire within my breast, searing 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


211 


my conscience and destroying my honor until at 
last I found myself a slave hound in chains of 
gold, the noble ambitions of my life in the dust, 
my people betrayed, my honor gone. Like Judas 
I betrayed my benefactor into the hands of his 
arch-enemy, the ambitious and corispiring William 
R. Hearst of New York, and by this act of base 
treachery I, ''like the avaricious Judean, threw a 
pearl away richer than all my tribe.'' I have 
wronged Senator Bradley, the one who has given 
so much of his beneficent life to the State he 
serves, and for me to live longer in it would be 
to profane that which he has made glorious by an 
unstained and undefiled manhood; therefore, I 
cast my mortal barque upon the dark waters of 
the Styx, and may God- have mercy upon it. For- 
give and forget me is my last request. 

George St. Clair.' 

The alarm was at once given, and in a short 
while the banks were lined with hundreds of 
people, while a thorough and disciplined search 
was made for the body, but on account of the big 
rise in the river which reached here at a late 


313 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


hour last night, the search was given up, and it 
is uncertain as to when the body will be found, if 
found at all. In addition to the above letter 
found in the boat, a hand satchel and overcoat 
were found upon the bank at which place it is 
supposed he entered the boat. Within the satchel 
were several personal belongings and a sealed let- 
ter addressed to Miss Lucile Graham, Austin, 
Texas; on the left-hand corner of which was 
written the word, personal. The contents of this 
letter are unknown at this hour, but it may be 
that Miss Graham, after reading the letter, will 
be able to give to the public additional light upon 
last night’s tragedy.” 

The whole page of the paper was given to a 
detailed account of the affair, but Lucile could 
read no further, every word struck her heart with 
horror, lacerating it to the degree of unbearable 
pain, so she laid the paper down and threw her- 
self into the chair by Kate’s side. 

“My darling,” said Kate softly as she placed 
her hand upon Lucile’s fevered brow, “it seems 
to me an awful injustice that one as worthy of 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


213 


perfect happiness as yon are, should be made to 
feel the pangs of such bitter sorrow/^ 

''My dear child/' replied Lucile sadly, "these 
trials are hard to bear, but I shall try to be recon- 
ciled and carry my heavy burdens to the Father 
in Heaven. This is the greatest sorrow I have 
ever had; how can I go on through life without 
him who was a guiding star to my feet? And to 
think he has fallen from his high position of 
trust and honor. Oh, 'tis hard to say, 'My Father 
Who art in Heaven, Thy Will be done.' " 

"Lucile, you have said nothing about the letter 
spoken of in the paper which was left by George, 
addressed to you. Shall I give it to you?" asked 
Kate hesitatingly. 

"Yes, Kate, bring it to me, my fear of its con- 
tents caused me not to mention it before, but I 
now shall try and nerve myself for the painful 
ordeal of reading his last words in hope of find- 
ing something which may obliterate the awful 
darkness of his crime," replied Lucile as she 
opened the letter. 

With a single glance, she read the few words 


214 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


he had written upon the white sheet of paper, 
then folding it as carefully as though it were a 
shroud, she placed it again in the envelope, and 
for a moment a silence like that of death was 
in the room, then with a cry of anguish she ex- 
claimed, ^^My Ood ! My God ! Why hast Thou 
forsaken me? Why hast Thou pressed this cup 
of sorrow to my lips?” Then springing to her 
feet, her hands clasped supplicatingly and with 
her eyes turned toward Heaven, she cried out, 
'V Heavenly Father! Why did You withdraw 
Your protecting angels from around the leader of 
Your people when the army of Satan had sur- 
rounded him? Why has he gone unhonored, un- 
wept and unsung to a watery grave? Why has 
he died the cruel death of a traitor, instead of 
the glorious death of a martyr? Oh, death, in 
this cruel tragedy, I find thy sting; in the de- 
struction of a soul like his, oh, grave, I find thy 
victory.” 

At this point Judge Graham entered the library 
and stood before the grate. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


215 


^^Father^ what is the very latest news? Have 
they found the body?” asked Lncile nervously. 

^^My secretary has just returned from the lake 
and reports the body unfound. On account of 
the big rise which came down the river last night, 
search with drag-lines is impossible, but a close 
search is being made for several miles down the 
river in hopes of finding it,” replied Judge Gra- 
ham coldly. 

^^The cruel, cruel water,” cried Lucile as she 
sank back into her chair. 

^‘Have you seen the letter St. Clair left to 
you ?” asked the J udge as he cast his eyes toward 
the floor. 

‘^Yes, Kate gave it to me and I have just read 
it,” answered Lucile with a sigh. 

‘^May I ask what the contents are?” 

^‘Listen, and I will read it all to you, just a 
few words, but how they strike my heart like a 
heavy bludgeon.” 

'‘Dear Lucile: — As I pen these lines, my boat 
is drifting, drifting to the place where my mortal 


216 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


life shall he crushed by the jaws of death. I 
have transgressed the laws of God and man, and 
as the wages of this transgression is death, I go 
out into it like a little child lost in the darTcness. 
My request is, that my body when recovered from 
the water be buried on the mountain across the 
river, and that its grave be unmarked and mound- 
less. Forgive me of my wrong to you, and forget 
that such as I ever lived. 

Farewell forever, forever good-bye, 

George/' 

As Lucile finished the words of the letter, her 
voice was broken with sobs, and tears filled her 
eyes. ^^My child,” said Judge Graham unmoved 
by her sorrow, 'Te brave, be not so childish, think 
only of what you have escaped by his death— the 
cruel snares of the fowler — the burning fetters of 
matrimonial bondage.” 

Father! Father!” cried Lucile, ^^you must 
not say that. I am a woman, a tender-hearted 
woman, and as such, I weep over the ruins of that 
which 1 loved as the 'Shepherd King of IsraeF 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


217 


wept over the ruined life and tragic death of his 
own Absalom/^ 

‘^But does Holy Writ record where tears were 
shed over the dangling carcass of him who be- 
trayed the Son of Godr 

^^You shall not! You must not profane his 
wrecked life, the sacred ruins of God^s temple, 
with such sacrilegious words,” cried Lucile as she 
sprang to her feet and faced her cold-hearted 
father. 

have not profaned it,” replied Judge Gra- 
ham angrily. 'This he has done himself by his 
base acts and cowardly treachery, and I repeat 
his own words, 'The wages of sin is death !' ” 
"Father, why have you come here? Is it be- 
cause you wish to prick my heart? Do you find 
amusement in my tears ?” 

"Such is not my fiendish desire!” exclaimed 
Judge Graham as he rose impetuously to his 
feet, "but to remind you of the fact that you are 
a Graham, and that a Graham never stoops so 
low as to mourn the destruction of the riffraff 
or any part of it. The blood that courses your 


218 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


veins is the blood of a proud and aristocratic 
ancestry, and it is your duty to guard it as 
though it were a stream of molten gold and its 
corpuscles as priceless as the pearls of Omen.” 

‘"Yes, it is my duty to guard it,” replied Lucile 
ironically. ''And I shall guard it, but I will 
steep it in the meekness of love, and in humility 
of spirit I will purge it of its haughtiness.” 

"You are indeed an ungrateful child, a most 
degenerate princess of the House of Graham,” 
replied the Judge harshly. 

"Father, for your honor and for the honor of 
the House of Graham, I have spoken. My grati- 
tude is boundless, inasmuch as it embraces the 
source of our honor, which is no other than the 
ranks of the laboring people ; to them am I grate- 
ful, and henceforth for ever more the House of 
Graham shall be their refuge and strength ; across 
its portals shall be written, 'Come unto me, all 
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest,’ while truth within shall manifest 
itself in 'The common fatherhood of God and the 
universal brotherhood of man.’ ” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


219 


^^The House of Graham an asylum of the riff- 
raff? The House of Graham an armory of the 
rabble ? No, never ! The footprints of my fathers 
shall never be obliterated by the vulgar tracks of 
the plebeians, nor shall the lustre of our glorious 
escutcheon be dimmed by the greasy finger-marks 
of the unclean/^ cried Judge Graham as he pressed 
his trembling hands to his head in the agony of 
his anger. 

“I have spoken exclaimed Lucile passionately 
as she drew the old family sword from its scab- 
bard on the wall which had flashed in defense of 
the colonies at Bunker’s Hill, and in defense of 
the Southland at Gettysburg. With the sword 
of the Grahams drawn, she continued, have 
spoken from the throne of the House of Graham; 
behold my sceptre, for it shall be mighty unto 
the end.” 

^^You have desecrated by your words the ashes 
of those who lived here, but as long as there is 
life in my body you shall not by any act of yours 
destroy the traditional pillars of this house, nor 
the sacred precedents established by the fathers 


220 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


who preceded ns here/^ replied Judge Graham 
angrily as he took the sword from Lucile and re- 
turned it to its scabbard on the wall. 

am bound to no precedent save that which 
has followed the path of truth and the cross of 
Calvarj^ toward the goal of love. In the unity of 
these three, truth, sacrifice, love, we perceive the 
grand trinity of society— the golden link which 
hinds man to man in one common brotherhood. 
‘He that saith he is in the light, but hateth his 
brother, is in darkness even until now. He that 
loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there 
is no occasion of stumbling in him. But he that 
hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in 
darkness, and knows not whither he goes, because 
that darkness has blinded his eyes.^ Then again 
it is written, Tf a man say, ‘T love God,” and 
hateth his brother, he is a liar, for he that loveth 
not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he 
love God, whom he hath not seen T ” said Lucile 
softly. 

As Lucile was talking. Judge Graham resumed 
his chair and buried his silvery head in his hands. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


221 


a characteristic attitude when in deep thought. 
Kate came over to where Lucile was standing and 
affectionately drew her into her arms as she kissed 
the pale brow, over which seemed to hang so many 
clouds of dark sorrow; then in a sympathetic tone 
she said: ^‘^WasnT it rather a singular request 
of George’s to be buried in that lonely mountain, 
and that his grave be unmarked and moundless ?” 

''Yes, dear,” replied Lucile with a sigh, "but 
when he made that request it was at a moment 
when the remorse of his conscience stung him 
most. He was a proud man and the last person 
in all the world I would have suspected of making 
such a request, but my heart is not so cold as to 
carry it out, the memories of the past forbid it, 
and command that he rest beneath a tended grave; 
therefore, his dear body when found shall be 
buried in our family lot in the Oakwood Cem- 
etery.” 

‘'What ! What do you mean ?” exclaimed Judge 
Graham with flashing eyes as he lifted his head 
and drew himself erect in his chair. 

"I mean that the body of George St. Clair shall 


222 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


be buried in our family lot in Oakwood/’ repeated 
Lucile in an emphatic tone. 

“My Grod 1 My God ! Why do you chastise 
me thus? Why have you delivered me over to 
the lash of my own child Then rising to his 
feet he faced his daughter and with great emotion 
cried out: “Not being content with bringing re- 
proach upon a proud ancestry, you now seek to 
invade the silent city of the dead to plant the 
bones of a traitor, but you shall not — the dust of 
the base and contemptible shall not mingle with 
the ashes of the Grahams.” 

“I hold in my own name the deed to that lot, 
and he shall be buried there,” replied Lucile 
calmly. 

Judge Graham^s face turned pale, then falling 
back into his chair exclaimed, “ ^How sharper 
than a serpent’s tooth it is, to have a thankless 
child !’ ” 

“Ev’ry state, 

Allotted to the race of man below, 

Is, in proportion, doom’d to taste some sorrow.” 


CHAPTEE X. 


“The fiery soul abhorr’d in Catiline, 

In Decius charms, in Curtius is divine: 

The same ambition can destroy or save. 

And makes a patriot, as it makes a knave.” 

'' I "'WO weeks have passed and the body of George 
^ St. Clair has not been found nor heard of, 
and all hope has been given up for its recovery. 
This was the first morning of December, and the 
sun rose from the depths of the eastern horizon 
like a ball of fire from a fathomless ocean of 
liquid gold. The birds in the early morning had 
sung the welcome to the dawn, and now with the 
same sweet melody were singing the heraldic 
songs of approaching winter, but upon the ear 
of Lucile they fell like the anthems of a funeral 
dirge over the dead hopes of her life, causing her 
anguished heart to yearn ^Tor the touch of a van- 
ished hand and the sound of a voice that is still !” 

She had not opened the piano since the night 
of George’s death, but now as she sat before it, her 
soul seemed to hunger for its soft sweet notes to 


224 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


comfort her^ and before she was conscious of the 
fact, her soft white fingers played upon the keys 
as she sang low and sadly: 

‘‘‘The way is dark, my Father! Cloud upon cloud 
Is gathering thickly o’er my head, and loud 
The thunders roar above me. 0, see — I stand 
Like one bewildered! Father, take my hand — 

And through the gloom lead safely home Thy Child! 
The day declines, my Father! and the night 
Is drawing darkly down. My faithless sight 
Sees ghostly visions. Fears like a spectral band 
Encompass me. O, Father, take my hand, 

And from the night lead pp to light Thy Child! 

The cross is heavy, Father! I have borne 
It long, and still do bear it. I cannot stand 
Or go alone. 0, Father, take my hand, 

And reaching down, lead to the crown Thy Child ! ’ ” 

As Lucile finished the song she heard footsteps 
behind her, and looking around saw her father, 
who had by this time reached her side. “Oh, 
Father, where have you been all the morning?’’ 
exclaimed Lucile affectionately as she arose and 
threw her arm around her father, “I have looked 
the house over for you, but could not find you. 
Where have you been?” 

“My child, urgent business called me to my 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


225 


office downtown this morning earlier than usual, 
and I have just now returned/^ 

Father, why do you take such an active part 
in worldly matters ? You have accumulated a 
large fortune; you are now old and should retire 
from public life, spending the few years which 
remain of your own life as a blessing to those 
around you who need so badly your aid and com- 
fort. By doing this, you add not only to their 
happiness but to your own, for ht is more blessed 
to give than to receive,' '' pleaded Lucile earnestly. 

^^Then you would have me tear the ermine of 
the Judiciary from my shoulders and substitute 
for it the sackcloth, that I might become a meek 
and lowly philanthropist— a fellow of the rabble— 
an associate of the base? No, my child, I shall 
not fling myself from a high piimacle of honor, 
down to the level of the illiterate and uncul- 
tured — " 

“But, Father," interrupted Lucile, “did not the 
Prince of the Court of Heaven leave the throne 
of His Father and come down to this world, ffiot 
to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give 


226 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


His life a ransom for many?' Are you better 
than the Son of God? Is your official robe of a 
richer purple than was His?" 

‘‘1 believe in intellectual spheres and social 
castes; I believe in the congeniality of environ- 
ment; and as it is easier to fall to the level than 
to be raised to the height, I insist upon a plainly 
drawn line of demarcation between the several 
and distinct classes of society," answered the 
Judge coldly. 

^‘Your standard of classification is man's finan- 
cial capacity ; mine is the heart, and if the heart 
is pure and undefiled, its possessor is royal, and 
even though that one be ragged and penniless, his 
inheritance is a mansion fin that city whose 
builder and maker is God,' and his life is eternal. 
This is God’s standard of classification, therefore, 
it must be the only correct one, for it is written, 
^The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man look- 
eth on the outward appearance, but the Lord look- 
eth on the heart.' Then again in God's Holy 
Word we find this little gem of truth flashing its 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


227 


light upon the heart: 'Better is a little with 
righteousness, than great revenues without right/ 

"My little girl is quite a theologian,” laughed 
Judge Graham as he placed his hands tenderly 
upon Lucile‘s shoulder, but the smile was only 
momentary; the last words of his daughter had 
stung him deeply, and as he replied, a seriousness 
overshadowed his face. "Can it be that my 
daughter believes her father an incarnation of ill- 
gotten dividends, who outwardly is an honored 
judge upon the bench, but inwardly a political 
pirate whose paramount purpose is the spoils of 
office?” 

"You misunderstood me. Father,” cried Lucile, 
"I did not mean that, for my faith and the pride 
of my life are anchored in your honor and integ- 
rity, but it wounds me deeply to see you so cold- 
hearted and indifferent to the poor around us, for 
I believe it is a sin to hold with unrelenting grasp 
the fortune with which God has blest us, when it 
should by distribution exercise its true function 
of inspiring blessedness.” 

"Lucile, you are playing with the embers of 


228 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


Socialism, and in your madness you are fanning 
them into a flame which sooner or later will in- 
evitably envelop our nation in civil strife. From 
the cradle of your infancy where you lay as a tiny 
bud, the hope and pride of your father, through 
all the developing years of your life, to its con- 
summation — the beautiful flower of womanhood, 
I have tried to instill within you the creed of your 
fathers, but now how sad it is for me to see the 
blight of this flower caused by a hidden germ 
nestled at its heart — the cancerous germ of social- 
istic infatuation,” replied her father soberly as 
he walked back and forth across the floor. 

^^You are wrong-; I am not a Socialist, when it 
comes to being an exponent of your crude concep- 
tion of Socialism. My creed is a God-given creed 
—a creed that fires the heart with Justice and 
nerves the arm to strike against the wrong, in- 
spiring the masses to arms against the unscrupu- 
lous foe. Monopoly— the illegitimate offspring of 
those two dangerous and despotic cohabitants. 
Oligarchy and Plutocracy.” 

Judge Graham was anxious to change the sub- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


229 


ject at this point, so taking out his watch he 
glanced at the time and exclaimed, ""Almost one 
o’clock! Senator Bradley arrived this morning 
and he has a conference with me here at two this 
afternoon, so let’s take lunch as soon as possible.” 

""Father, may I ask the nature of this confer- 
ence?” asked Lucile seriously. 

""We wish merely to discuss the present politi- 
cal situation, and also lay our plans for the next 
campaign,” replied her father. 

""Then you are thinking of entering the race 
for Governor?” 

""Yes, my dear, when I withdrew from the race 
during the last campaign, it was with the under- 
standing that Senator Bradley would throw his 
influence to me four years hence, giving the Gov- 
ernor just elected two terms in oflSce.” 

""Oh, Father!” cried Lucile as she threw her 
arms around his neck, ""won’t that be grand? 
With Senator Bradley’s undivided influence you 
will win the race, and just think how much good 
you can do as Governor of our State.” 

""Lucile, have you not thought of what this vie- 


230 


THE HOBLEST EOMAN 


tory means to the House of Graham? History 
will immortalize its name and — ” 

‘^‘^But when you are Governor you can then par- 
don so many of the poor unfortunate prisoners, 
can’t you, Father?” interrupted Lucile as a happy 
smile lit her countenance with a light which 
seemed divine. 

‘^To be merciful to the transgressor of our laws, 
often means to be cruel to the just and obedient,” 
replied her father coldly. 

‘^Well, if the House of Graham gives to Texas 
a Governor, we will see how merciful we can be,” 
replied Lucile in a resolute tone. 

"'By the way, Lucile, what shall I say to Sen- 
ator Bradley in regard to the course you intend to 
pursue in this fight made against him by the 
Hearst faction ?” asked J udge Graham nervously. 

Father, express to Senator Bradley my sym- 
pathy and tell him that I will exert every effort 
to redeem an honored and unstained name from 
the slimy mire of shame. Come, Father, it is now 
time for lunch,” said Lucile as she took her 
father’s arm and left the parlor. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


231 


After lunch Judge Graham went to the library 
to await the coming of Senator Bradley; Kate 
returned to her room to write several letters, while 
Lucile, wishing to be alone in her thoughts and 
meditations, took several of George's old letters 
with her and slipped away quietly to the small 
vine-covered arbor— the bower of a blissful past 
where she and George had spent so many after- 
noons together, and now where amaranthine flow- 
ers of memory bloomed, exhaling their sweet 
balms upon the gloom of the present. Lucile 
read, and then re-read the letters she brought with 
her, then meditatively reviewed George’s tender 
and affectionate diction when he referred to her 
as his soul’s guardian; as the divine inspiration 
of every noble act and the propellant power of 
every immaculate thought. She remembered the 
many times he had manifested an unselfish spirit; 
how he had sacrificed the pleasures of self in re- 
sponse to the call of duty; how his character 
seemed like a palacious structure resting upon the 
concrete foundation of love and truth — his noble 
deeds its influential illumination. 


232 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


Then she thought of the last days of his life, 
how in his madness and thirst for gold he had 
destroyed that beautiful structure, crumbled its 
foundation, and dimmed the lustre of its illumi- 
nation. ^'Oh, how strong are the counter influ- 
ences of Satan, that they should slip a soul from 
its heavenly sphere and poison its source of civic 
virtue,” muttered Lucile in a museful mood. 

At this juncture of thought, her attention was 
arrested by the sound of voices, and looking up, 
she saw through the vines her father and Senator 
Bradley, who were approaching the bench which 
stood upon the lawn just a few feet from the side 
of the arbor in which she was sitting. 

“What shall I do?” whispered Lucile to her- 
self, H came here to be alone, and now cannot 
leave without being seen. I cannot bear to meet 
Senator Bradley face to face after all that has 
happened. I shall stay here until they leave, 
then return to my room.” 

By this time her father and the Senator were 
seated upon the bench. "'To remain here,” 
thought Lucile seriously, "I shall be an eaves- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


233 


dropper; I shall be guilty of a very dishonorable 
act, but how shall I escape unnoticed?’’ 

Just then something seemed to say to her, 
^^Stay where you are, your father has no secrets 
you should not hear; you are his child and should 
acquaint yourself with all his plans, that you may 
be able to extend to him a helping hand in his 
future campaign for the governorship. Your 
father’s friend. Senator Bradley, is being vilified 
by designing enemies; the cords of conspiracy 
are tightening around him; therefore, stay where 
you are and like a guardian angel, invisible but 
powerful, throw around him every safeguard, 
while you loose the cords that bind him, and de- 
stroy chose who seek his ruin.” 

^^Yes, I’ll stay,” replied Lucile in an undertone. 
‘‘1 shall not desert my post of duty, for it is now 
a station of love and honor.” 

^^Well, Graham, tell me all about the scheme,” 
exclaimed Senator Bradley as he arranged him- 
self comfortably upon the bench. 

^Tt worked like a charm and was executed with- 
out a single hitch ; everybody believes that he com- 


234 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


mitted suicide/^ replied Judge Graham as he 
glanced around to see if they were alone. Lucile 
raised up quickly, actuated by a startling thought, 
then leaned forward again to catch every word. 

"‘How did the news of his death affect Lucile?” 
asked the Senator with an anxious look upon his 
face. 

Bradley, that was the part that cut me like a 
knife— the witnessing of my own child^s sorrow. 
When she heard that he was dead, her poor heart 
seemed broken, and she grieved over his death as 
though she had received her own death-warrant.” 

‘"My dear Graham, that was a hard trial for 
you, and I am sorry that we had to sacrifice her 
happiness in order to accomplish our purpose, but 
within a short time the wounds of her heart will 
heal and the scars will become invisible.” 

‘■^My God ! My God !” exclaimed Lucile to her- 
self. ‘mat do they mean? Is it possible that 
there has been foul play? No! No! My dear 
father would do no wrong.” 

''You. left a smooth man to execute that plot 
when you placed its execution in the hands of 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


235 


Pat Crow/' remarked Judge Graham as they both 
lighted their cigars. 

^^Yes, Crow was the man for the work ; he loves 
tragedy, or the semblance of it, as a beast of prey 
loves warm blood. Begin at the first and tell me 
all you know, for I have not seen Crow since the 
capture, but from what I saw in the papers rela- 
tive to St. Clair's death, I felt certain that the 
plot had been successfully carried out." 

^^Well, Crow left the cave during the night and 
reached the city about daylight; he then came out 
to see me and presented his plans, which were to 
carry at night from the cave to the river, St. Clair's 
handbag and a few other of his belongings, which 
were to be left upon the bank at a point where he 
was supposedly to enter the boat; in the handbag 
was to be placed a letter addressed to Lucile, the 
contents of which you have already read in the 
papers. Then the boat which was to be secured 
for the purpose, v/as to be set adrift from this 
point, carrying within it a letter addressed to the 
laboring forces. This being accomplished there 
was nothing more to be done but to wait results. 


236 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


I concurred with him in his plans, so we set the 
night for their execution. Crow had already pre- 
pared a long letter imitative of St. Clair's hand- 
writing, which was addressed to Lucile, the object 
of which was to destroy her confidence in him by 
wRat was to appear as his own confession of un- 
pardonable wrongs committed by him against you. 
Then, again, this letter was also intended to pre- 
pare her for the presumed tragedy of self-destruc- 
tion which was to follow. I handed this letter to 
her and it bore the fruit we desired, for she drove 
from her heart the affection she had for him, and 
bitterly reproached his acts as despicable and 
traitorous perpetrations, but the news of his death 
rekindled within her breast the flames of old affec- 
tions which consumed in her heart all that was 
eyil of him, and in its place enshrined his virtues 
with immortal spirit." 

T hen we must use our influence with her in 
such a way as to destroy her affections for that 
wretch !" exclaimed Bradley irritably. '"We have 
now reached the crisis of our lives and much 
depends upon our action. We captured St. Clair 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 237 

in order to secure the Hewett papers, but his cap- 
ture availed us nothing, as we did not find them. 
I have reasons to believe they were in St. Clair’s 
possession the night he was kidnaped by Crow and 
young Priest, but the disposition of them is a 
mystery which may never be unraveled.” 

“He probably turned them over to the Attorney 
General immediately upon his arrival in the city,” 
remarked Judge Graham. 

“Impossible!” exclaimed Senator Bradley em- 
phatically. “Crow followed him from St. Louis 
to this city and watched every movement he 
made/^ 

“We should fear no harm from them, even 
though they were found, for the letters we wrote 
in the handwriting of St. Clair, and which the 
public has accepted as his own confession, will 
prove the falsity of the Hewett papers.’^ 

“Yes, we have counteracted their poisonous 
effects, but there are two things that must be 
done immediately : St. Clair must be disposed of, 
and the lips of Hewett sealed with a handsome 
bribe,^’ replied Senator Bradley. 


238 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


“In wliat way do you intend to dispose of St. 
Clair asked Judge Graham in an excited tone. 

“John Priest is in the city and had a confer- 
ence with me this morning, during which we dis- 
cussed the matter freely; and at his own request 
I have placed him and Crow in charge of St. 
Clair, to do with him as they may see fit,” 
answered the Senator elusively. 

“What plans are they going to pursue?” asked 
the Judge eagerly. 

“Of course I have washed my hands of the 
whole affair, and anything they do will be done 
upon their own responsibility.” 

“Senator!” exclaimed the Judge harshly, “you 
know what they intend to do with that boy, there- 
fore I ask you again, what are their plans ?” 

“I do not exactly approve of them,” replied 
the Senator as he arose uneasily from the bench. 
“But in their execution we will realize our only 
avenue of escape — ^the only concealment of our 
crimes.” 

“Senator, there is something you wish to keep 
from me in regard to the plans of Priest and 


THE NOBLEST HOMAN 


239 


Crow. I do not purpose to be kept in the dark 
as to any phase of the plot, and for the third 
time I ask, what are their plans 

“Then you shall know,’^ replied Bradley as a 
paleness overspread his face. “Tonight, while 
St. Clair is asleep, they are to place over his nos- 
trils a cloth saturated with chloroform, and when 
he is dead they will bury him in the cave, after 
which its narrow entrance will be sealed up.^’ 

“My God, Bradley cried J udge Graham as 
he rose to his feet with a tremor. “Is it true that 
in order to hide our crimes and dishonor, our 
hands must be soiled with human blood 

“Our hands will not be stained with blood; we 
commit no murder, neither have we sanctioned it,^^ 
pleaded Senator Bradley. 

“But we know that the murder is to be com- 
mitted tonight, and unless we raise our hands 
against it, we are as guilty as though we admin- 
istered the noxious ether with our own hands,” 
replied Judge Graham as he lowered his head 
upon his breast. 

“If we lift our hands against the execution of 


240 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


this plot, we raise them for the shackles of the 
law 

‘^^Unless we do, we may find them bound by 
the hangman^s cords,” protested the Judge. 

^^Ah, Judge, ^cowards die many times before 
their death let us be brave, and in silence await 
the results of the accomplishment of the plot; 
unless we do this we are forever fallen, and tomor- 
row will be nothing but the ruins of yesterday^s 
temple, over which in years to come will hover 
like an evil spirit, the curses of posterity.” 

‘^Tn our rashness to save ourselves we have 
drawn around us a net, the meshes of which can- 
not be broken, and which places us at the mercy 
of our enemies ; therefore, I suppose there is noth- 
ing left for us to do but submit to the inevitable 
and trust to luck,” replied Judge Graham as he 
gazed sadly into the face of Senator Bradley. 

‘^‘^There is but one thing that will break the 
meshes of this net and set us free; that is the 
death of St. Clair,” said the Senator finally. 

^^What about Hewett?” 

^‘^Our counterfeit letters — the fictitious confes- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


241 


sion of St. Clair, will render ineffective anything 
Hewett may do or say.^^ 

^‘You are right, Bradley, we must push this to 
the end; one moment of hesitancy is like halting 
on the quicksand. The iron is hot, the anvil is 
ready — let us strike. What time tonight will they 
administer the drug?” 

‘^^Three o’clock tomorrow morning,” replied the 
Senator, ^Tut at that hour I shall be far away 
from here, as I’ll then be home. By the way, 
Graham, our friend Henry Priest has asked me to 
hand you this package as a little gift of remem- 
brance from him, this being, I believe, the fifty- 
ninth anniversary of your birth.” 

'‘As Judge Graham was expressing his appre- 
ciation of the gift, he opened the sealed package, 
and his eyes rested with avaricious delight upon 
a bundle of crisp paper currency — five thousand 
dollars in fifty one-hundred dollar denominations. 
^^Senator, you will please convey to Priest my 
thanks for this valuable remembrance; tell him 
to have no fears as to the case now on file in 
the Supreme Court, for his interests shall be as 


24:2 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


my interests, and that I shall use my influence 
to have the case reversed.” 

“Priest requested me to say to you that he 
appreciates deeply the many services you have 
rendered him in the past, and that all favors 
shown him in the future shall not go unnoticed 
or unrewarded by him. I must now be gone or 
ril miss my train; keep me posted as to every 
move made by my enemies, and remember, ^There 
is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the 
flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage 
of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. 
On such a full sea are we now afloat; and we 
must take the current when it serves, or lose our 
ventures.’ Good-bye, my true and everlasting 
friend, good-bye.” 

A grasp of the hand, and they separated, each 
going to his respective field of prey; one to the 
Federal halls of legislation; the other, to the 
State’s Judiciary. 

“Tyrants seldom die 

Of a dry death; it waiteth at their gate, 

Brest in the colour of their robes of state.” 


CHAPTER XI. 


“Still monarchs dream 
Of universal empire growing up 
From universal ruin. Blast the design, 

Great God of Hosts! nor let thy creatures fall 
Unpitied victims at ambition’s shrine!” 

¥ UCILE heard all that passed between her 
^ .father and Senator Bradley, and for an 
hour she sat among the vines of the arbor, frantic 
with the joy that came to her when she heard that 
St. Clair was alive. ^^Oh, how I have wronged 
hiTii ! How cruel were my lips to falsely accuse 
the man I loved — the purest of men — the slan- 
dered but undefiled leader of men.” When she 
thought of the criminal tactics of her father, his 
cruelty, and cold-heartedness, she battled against 
the tears which flowed unbidden from the source 
of a deep and agonizing sorrow. The revelation 
of her father's weakness and base avarice, coupled 
with the unscrupulous and murderous stratagem 
of Senator Bradley, crushed her heart like a ter- 
rific thunderbolt, riving its tendrils of affection 


244 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


which had for years bound her close to her father 
in the bonds of childish devotion and unbounded 
confidence. Since the trusting hour of 'innocent 
childhood, she had loved the great statesman of 
Texas, for whose honor she but a few days before 
had sacrificed the idol of her virgin love — the 
mate of her own heart. 

^^My Eather ! My Father cried Lucile, ^^whv 
have you darkened the life of your own child with 
the shadows of treason ? Why have you broken 
her heart with your deeds of shame? Why now 
do you add crime to crimes by staining your 
hands with blood of the innocent which in the 
day of judgment will cry out against you? No! 
No ! You shall not, you shall not destroy one 
so noble and brave — one so guiltless and pure. I 
am just a woman, but a true woman’s love in- 
spires the loftiest courage, and with this intrepid- 
ity I shall steal away tonight and beard those 
demons in their den, that I may liberate the one 
I have so cruelly wronged.” But a sudden fear 
seemed to take hold of her. '"How can I find the 
cave in the nighttime? How can I go alone and 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


245 


accomplish this grave undertaking, for a life, a 
great life depends upon my action which must be 
speedy and successful. No time must be lost, as 
the sun is now being hid by the tree tops.^’ 

After a few moments of deep thought, a bright 
hope flashed before her and seemed to blaze out 
a path of victory. ^Tfll swear Uncle Ned to 
secrecy, and have him accompany me tonight; he 
knows this country like a fox, and with him as a 
guide wefll find that accursed cave.^^ 

Looking cautiously out of the arbor, she saw 
Uncle Ned on the further side of the driveway, 
and in a few moments she attracted his attention 
and beckoned him to come to her. ^^Come inside 
of the arbor. Uncle Ned, I have something to tell 
you,^^ said Lucile as the old family darkey came 
up with his folded hat beneath his arm. 

'Hs you gwine to tell dis ole nigger a secret. 
Honey?’’ asked Uncle Ned as he entered the arbor 
and stood before Lucile. 

^‘Yes, Uncle Ned, a most important secret, the 
like of which I’ve never told you before; but you 
must promise to tell no one. Will you promise?” 


246 


THE HOBLEST EOMAH 


Honey, I sho do promise/^ grinned Uncle 
Hed as he showed the rows of his big white teeth 
and turned the whites of his eyes into prominence. 

''Do you know how to go to the old Gibbons 
ranch 

"Lawd, Honey, I sho do exclaimed the old 
negro as his eyes sparkled with fond recollections 
of the past. ^^Many a night befo de war, me and 
my old dog hunted coons and Opossums all round 
dat dar big mountain, and dat game sho was good 
eaten — dem coons, "possums and taters. I wished 
a many a time I could live .dem ole days over 
again with ole Marse and Missus."" 

"Well, Uncle Yed, I want you to go with me 
tonight to that same old mountain,"" said Lucile 
softly. 

"Whar"s your dog. Honey?"" laughed Uncle Yed 
at the unique idea of a coon-hunt with Lucile. 

"Oh, we are not going hunting!"" exclaimed 
Lucile. "Listen, and I"ll tell you all. You re- 
member Mr. St. Clair who used to come here to 
see me, do you not?"" 

"Yes, Honey, I sho do. Is he gwine, too?"" 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


247 


^‘No, Uncle Ned, two mean men have captured 
him because he knew something they were afraid 
he would tell, and they have taken him to a cave 
in that mountain, and at three o’clock in the 
morning they are going to poison him.” 

‘‘Sho nuf !” exclaimed the old negro as his hat 
dropped from beneath his arm, and as the white 
in his eyes grew larger. 

“Yes, and we must find that cave before mid- 
night; surprise the two villains and bind them 
hand and foot, then liberate Mr. St. Clair.” 

“Law God-der-mighty, sweet chile, dats a purty 
ticklish bizziness.” 

“Then you are afraid to go with me to save 
the life of the man I love !” exclaimed Lucile as 
tears trickled down her cheeks. 

“No, Honey, you knows I’se not afeard of dem 
fellers. Didn’t dis ole nigger put a bunch of dem 
damned blue coats to der heels when dey tried to 
burn old Massa’s house? Oh, Lawd, Honey, how 
de dust sho did fly. No, chile, I’se not afeard; 
I’d be dispectful to my raisin’ to be afeard of 


248 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


dem two devils. What do you take dis ole nigger 
fur?^^ 

‘^Tben you will go with me?’^ asked Lucile 
hopefully. 

^^Yes, Missy, Ed fight de devil and blow up 
dat hell uv his^n for you !” exclaimed Uncle Ned 
excitedly as he brought his fist down upon the 
bench inside of the arbor. 

^^Good !’’ exclaimed Lucile joyfully as she took 
the old wrinkled black hand between her own soft 
white palms. “You are a dear old fellow, and I 
shall never forget you. Slip Pat and Prince 
from the stable at eight ohlock tonight; put my 
saddle on Prince and yours on Pat, and Ihl meet 
you in the alley at that time. DonT forget to 
bring with you the pistol father gave you, and 
remember my instructions, but above all, do not 
breathe to a soul what I have told you.” 

“De bosses will be right dar. Missy, and dis 
yar nigger will be right dar with hm,” he replied 
proudly. “But, chile, der ainT no cave in dat 
dar mountain,” continued the old darkey as he 
scratched his white woolly head meditatively. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


249 


Uncle Ned^ there must be a rather large 
cave somewhere in that mountain, which has a 
very narrow passage, and I believe we can easily 
find it by going around the base of the mountain 
and looking closely for a light/^ 

“How does yo know dem rascals and dat dar 
cave is dar?^^ asked Uncle Ned as he scratched 
his head again. 

“I found this out today, but cannot tell you 
now how I heard it, as it is a secret I must keep 
all to myself. I must now be going; will see you 
in the alley at eight oYlock tonight,^^ whispered 
Lucile as she slipped from the arbor and returned 
to the house, entering it from the back. 

As she started up the staircase, she came face 
to face with her father, who was coming down 
from his room to the library. 

“Well, my daughter exclaimed Judge Graham 
with a cold smile, “I delivered your message to 
Senator Bradley, and he is proud to know that 
he has such a fair one to champion his cause ; in 
fact, this is the message he sent you.” 

“Thank you. Father,” replied Lucile as though 


250 THE NOBLEST ROMAN 

nothing had happened. 'H believe I asked you 
to tell the Senator in my behalf that I would 
exert every effort to redeem an honored and un- 
stained name from the slimy mire of shame ?” 

“Yes^ my child^ and it was with feelings of 
deep pride that I acquainted him with that fact.’" 

dhen 1 repeat as before; I shall exert every 
effort to redeem an honored and unstained name 
from the pits of shame/" answered Lucile as she 
ran quickly up the stairs and entered her room. 

Wishing to meditate over her plans for the 
night and to devise some method of escaping un- 
noticed from the house, she flung herself upon 
the bed, but as she did so, a rap at the door 
attracted her attention, and in response to her 
call, Kate came in and seeing Lucile, exclaimed, 
‘'My dear, where have you been? I have hunted 
the house over for you."’ 

“Darling, while you were writing your letters 
I took a stroll among the trees and vines for the 
purpose of living for a while in the memories of 
the past, and there at the oasis of sweet thought 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


251 


I remained longer than I intended,” answered 
Lucile with a sweet yet sad smile. 

^^My friend Mrs. Sands, has just ’phoned and 
wishes me to spend the evening and night with 
her, and requests that you accompany me ; she has 
sent her carriage for us.” 

‘^My dear Kate, I have a severe headache and 
for this reason must decline the pleasure of your 
company to Mrs. Sands.” 

‘‘Well, dearie, but we shall miss you,” replied 
Kate as she stooped and kissed the lips of her 
girl companion. 

“Thank you, Kate, but my presence would only 
cast a gloom over the entire evening, for during 
the last two weeks I have lived only in the sombre 
shadows of life,” replied Lucile sadly. 

“You must not sorrow for the inevitabilities of 
the past!” exclaimed Kate in a comforting tone. 

“I no longer grieve because of the sorrows of 
the past, for some of her clouds are turning 
toward me their bright silver lining, while others 
have lost their golden glow, and are now becoming 
heavier and blacker as they drift from the past 


253 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


across the present, to hang as a mystic veil in 
the firmament of the future/^ 

‘^My dear, what is the new trouble that so dis- 
turbs your heart and adds an extra burden upon 
your life?^" asked Kate affectionately. 

^‘Oh, don’t ask me that; please don’t!” ex- 
claimed Lucile. “Time will reveal it all, for the 
future, like an urn, will hold the ashes of hopes 
that were fond and dear.” 

“Miss Hewett, the carriage has arrived,” an- 
nounced a male servant from the hall. 

“Cheer up, my little pet; open wide the portals 
of your heart, and let life’s golden sunlight and 
soft zephyr drive the overhanging clouds beyond 
the horizon of ^blind forgetfulness and dark 
oblivion,’ ” replied Kate as she threw Lucile a 
kiss and left the room. 

For a moment Lucile’s eyes rested upon the 
door through which Kate had just passed, then 
turning them toward Heaven, she breathed a silent 
prayer to the Divine Father, invoking His guid- 
ance and blessing in her work of the night. 

“Grod’s hand is already directing my course,” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


253 


thought Lucile as she arose from the bed to begin 
her preparation for the awful ordeal ahead of her. 
“When He took Kate away for the night. He 
lifted from my path the greatest obstacle.^' 

As she was looking through her trunk for a 
suitable disguise, she heard her father call from 
the foot of the stairs, whose call she answered 
in person. ^"My daughter, I have just received a 
telegram calling me to Dallas on legal business, 
and must catch the train which leaves here within 
the next hour. I may not be home for two or 
three days, so take good care of yourself while I 
am away. Good-bye, my darling,^^ said Judge 
Graham as he fondly kissed her lips. 

“Good-bye, Father, and may God bless you,’" 
replied Lucile in a trembling voice as she with- 
drew from his embrace and returned to her room. 
“0 Father of Heaven, Thou art great and kind ; 
Ihoa art paving the way to my goal — the prison 
of my loved one. In Thee I put my trust; under 
Thy guardianship 1 place my all, for my faith in 
Thee gives me strength and courage to go for- 
ward in the cause of love and duty, feeling that 


254 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


the hand that so divinely guards will not deliver 
me unto the arch-enemies of truth and righteous- 
ness.” 

AVhen Lucile arose from the place she was 
kneeling, a new light had penetrated the deepest 
depths of her soul and gleamed as rays of hope 
from her eyes as she resumed her search for the 
masque sha v/as to wear. After hunting through 
her trunk and in the attic, she found an old suit 
of Judge Graham^s, a slouch hat and an old pair 
of cavalier boots which were worn by her grand- 
father in the Civil War. Then she went to her 
father’s room and carefully raised the lid of his 
trunk, and after a few moments search found his 
pistol, which she slipped beneath the folds of her 
dress, then left quickly for her own room. 

''Seven o’clock !” exclaimed Lucile as she looked 
at her watch. "The next hour will be consumed 
in arranging my disguise, then we shall be on the 
road to the Gibbons ranch ; to the mountain which 
holds as a gem the priceless treasure of my life.” 

At exactly five minutes to eight, Lucile buckled 
on the revolver and pulled the slouch hat down 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


255 


over her forehead until its flexible brim hid her 
eyes partially from view, then she stepped before 
the mirror to take the last circumspective look at 
herself. ^'Oh, wouldn’t I make a typical villain !” 
exclaimed Lucile as she gazed upon the rough- 
looking aspect reflected in the mirror. "'But this 
is one time I am glad the apparel does not pro- 
claim the person who wears it. While outwardly 
I appear a villain, beneath this rough disguise is 
the throbbing heart of a woman, too timid to face 
a harmless mouse, but brave enough to enter the 
embrace of night, and, at the mouth of death, 
defy the scouts of Apollyon.” 

A moment more and she was groping her way 
through the darkness down the back stairway, 
through the kitchen and out into the yard; then 
beneath the shade of the trees and among the 
screening shrubbery, she continued her way to the 
stable, where everything seemed as still as death. 

At the door entering into the alley, Lucile 
paused and looked out; there were the saddled 
horses, and by them stood the faithful old darkey. 


256 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


^T/awd hab mercy, Honey, is dat you ex- 
claimed Hncle Ned as Lucile approached. 

^^Yes, Hncle,” replied Lucile in a whisper, 
^^didnT you know me in this disguise?” 

knowed dat was you. Honey, but you sho 
don’t look like 5’^ouse sweet self wid dem dar fixins 
on, but com yer, chile, and let dis ole nigger hep 
you on dat boss, caze time we gwine f rum dis 
yer place an dat mighty quick, if we save Marse 
St. Clair frum dem debils.” 

Before Lucile had time to answer, she felt 
Uncle Ned’s strong arins lift her to the saddle. 

^•^Now, Honey, I’se gwine to tak de lead; keep 
dem dar eyes of yourn on dis boss and dis nigger, 
and ride peart, fer I’se gwine to take you to dat 
dar mountain,” added Uncle Ned as he mounted 
Pat and rode past Lucile. 

As he emerged from the alley, he spurred Pat 
into a fast gallop, and with Prince close upon his 
heels, they were soon upon the cedar-brake road. 
House after house were quickly passed, then into 
the long mountain gorge they plunged — over 
the rocky road which wound among the green 



“Hands up! Hands up!’' cried a strange looking 
fellow as h(' pushed himself quickly into the cave 
with a di'awn revolvcu- in each hand. — Page 268. 







■'"' *''vv-*’. ' 4 ^ 4 . " 



X ' t/ -n f 1 . ^_ 




-ite 


n< 


^^E&Si*. 




.V-/V 


V •< 


.X 




fpK^ 


Va 


• V 




V ^ 


' W'- --‘^ 

■■' ^ i 1 * ", . 


:» 


P^Ajtj . * .*' * * > t '* 5^JpBi 

^ ■* . : • i _ 


■: ,f 'i: . 'f- i " 

jS ’ : ■■-*--lS’. .'’.'i -f , '.S.-^?- ' * #■ E 







THE NOBLEST EOMAN , 257 


cedars and brown oaks. As they passed along 
the river road that curved around the base 
of Mt. Bonnell, Lucile thought of the traditional 
legend of two Indian lovers, whose separate tribes 
were antagonistic to each other, and whose chiefs 
were the respective fathers of the two lovers, who 
rather than be separated, stole away in the night 
from their camps and met beneath a large oak on 
the top of Mt. Bonnell, from which place they 
went to a projecting cliff, and there, after binding 
themselves together, leaped headlong into the 
angry waters below, that they might live together 
undisturbed in the ^^Happy Hunting Ground.^’ 

Lucile had never ridden so fast before on horse- 
back, but her eagerness to reach the cave as soon 
as possible gave her additional strength for the 
strenuous ride which seemed to stretch undimin- 
ish ingly before her. After an hour’s ride she saw 
Uncle Ned draw on the reins of Pat, and bring 
him to a standstill. 

'^Honey, is yo tired?” asked the old negro as 
Lucile rode up. 

''Not so very. Uncle Ned,” answered Lucile 


258 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


affectionately. haven’t had time to think of 
fatigue, as my thoughts overleaped the distance 
before us, and from the mountain of my lover’s 
captivity they signal me onward. Where are we 
now ?” 

‘^We’se on de haf way groun, chile; ten mo 
mile to dat mountain, but dese bosses mus blow 
ewhil. Honey.” 

“Uncle Ned, it is now only five minutes past 
nine ; we have made half of our trip in one hour !” 
exclaimed Lucile as she struck a match and looked 
at her watch. 

“Yes, Honey, we sho has been gwine some, but 
de next ten mile we must move kinder slow, fur 
dem bosses sho am a foamin’,” replied Uncle Ned 
as he dismounted to readjust the saddle blankets. 

“Have you thought out any plan for us to fol- 
low when we locate the cave?” 

“No, Honey, but I spose when we finds dat 
cave, dis nigger will slip up and see what is der, 
den come back and we’se will hold a counsil ub 
war, den move up and shoot de livers out ub dem 
damn dogs,” replied Uncle Ned authoritatively. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


259 


as he felt the importance of his leadership upon 
this occasion. 

^'No, Uncle Ned, we must not shoot unless 
forced to the last extremity; we must try to take 
them by surprise without the firing of a single 
shot, for our cause is the glorious cause of right- 
eousness and not one of merciless slaughter,^’ 
answered Lucile with patriotic enthusiasm. 

^^Now, look a yer, chile, dey betta not fool wid 
dis yer nigger, ur put eny ub der fingers on my 
little missy ; fur if da do. Use sho gwine to shoot 
and shoot hard; yes. Honey, I sho is, I sho is,^^ 
replied Uncle Ned with much spirit. 

'^The horses seem sufficiently rested, so lefs 
continue our journey !’" exclaimed Lucile as she 
drew the reins and reseated herself in the saddle. 

The next hour and a half were consumed in 
traveling the remaining ten miles, at the end of 
which time they halted before the large arch gate 
that led into the Gibbons ranch. 

^^Here we is. Honey, an deUs dat mountain!” 
exclaimed Uncle Ned as he dismounted to open 
the gate. 


260 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


After fifteen minutes’ slow ride they reached 
the base of the mountain which towered stately 
and grand above them, but to Lucile it seemed 
more like the shrine of Moloch than the handi- 
work of God. 

^‘^Now, Honey, youse ride keerfully aroun’ de 
mountain on dat side, and I’se gwine aroun’ dis 
tother way til I meets you. Now, chile, if you 
sees a light a shinin’ eny whar, reckelect de place, 
an’ when we meets we will go back to whar 
hit am.” 

"All right. Uncle Ned, let your eyes pierce 
every crevice, for we must find the cave,” whis- 
pered Lucile as they separated, each going in an 
opposite direction. 

For the first few minutes Lucile felt the awful 
pangs of fear as she rode alone through the dark- 
ness; every old stump had the appearance of a 
demon, while the largest rocks seemed as white- 
robed ghosts whose language was like that of the 
screech-owl, but the gravity of her mission urged 
her onward as the flames of love within her breast 
inspired new courage and consumed the fears that 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


261 


clutched there. She was now half way around^ 
yet no light was seen as a beacon of hope; no 
sound was heard that could give a clue as to the 
location of the cave. 

^^hat if we canT find it?’^ asked Lucile to 
herself as her heart seemed to rise and throb 
within her throat. ^^Oh, how I hunger for just 
one tiny speck of light by which I may be led to 
the rescue of my own dear one — the light of my 
life — the star of my destiny.’^ 

Just then she saw a dark object moving slowly 
and cautiously toward her in the shade of the 
underbrush. She felt a cold quiver run over her 
body, as she realized the dark figure to be that of 
a man groping his way as though he wished to 
escape detection. He now slipped from the path 
and stooped behind a near-by bush. Lucile 
reached for her pistol, cocked it, and moved on 
toward the brush behind which was concealed the 
mysterious personage. 

'^Stop dat boss. Honey !” exclaimed Uncle Ned 
as he arose from his concealment. 

^^Oh, Uncle Ned, is that you?^^ cried Lucile as 


262 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


she jumped down from her saddle and caught 
the old negro's hand. ''Have you found the cave? 
Where is your horse?" asked Lucile with the 
same breath. 

"Honey, my boss is tied in dat dar thicket," 
replied Uncle Ned as he pointed to a clump of 
brush. "Yes, sweet chile. Use sho foun' dat cave; 
saw a little light, den Use crawled off de ole boss 
and tied him to a tree, den slipped like an ole 
houn’ through all dat brush, right up to de mouf 
of dat cave an' listened; I hurd de soun' ub some 
thing, den fetched my old pistol out an' pulled 
de hammer back, den peeped in — " 

"What did you see?" interrupted Lucile ex- 
citedly. 

"Lawd a mercy. Honey, as sho as dis ole nig- 
ger's a livin', dere lay Marse St. Clair on de cot 
wid long chains on dem feet ub his'n, an' not 
fur from dat cot sot two spectable looking fellers 
playing kards an' a smokin', den I crawled away 
from dat dar place to tell my little missy what 
dis nigger saw." 

"Oh, Uncle Ned, how I love you for this. You 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


263 


are a dear old fellow, and I shall never forg^et 
)''ou as long as I live. Come, get your pistol 
ready, we must reach there as quickly as possible V' 
exclaimed Lucile as she threw the reins of her 
bridle over a snag on the bush and drew from 
beneath her coat the revolver she had with her. 

“Like a mountain lone and bleak, 

With its sky-encompass’d peak, 

Thunder riven. 

Lifting his forehead bare. 

Through the cold and blighting air. 

Up to heaven. 

Is the soul that feels its woe, 

And is nerv’d to bear the blow.” 


CHAPTEE XIL 


“Oh! is there not 

A time, a righteous time, reserv’d in fate, 

When these oppressors of mankind shall feel 
The miseries they give; and blindly fight 
For their own fetters too?” 

^^'POE the last six weeks we have held you as 
our prisoner, during which time you 
have stubbornly withheld from us your knowledge 
as to the disposition of the Hewett papers. Your 
continued obstinacy and insubordination have 
now about terminated our armistice. You have 
yet one alternative — life or death. In revealing 
to us the concealment of those papers whereby 
we may secure them, you choose life and liberty, 
while your silence upon this question means death 
at once. With these terms before you for con- 
sideration we wait one hour for your decision,^^ 
said John Priest as he gazed down upon the cot 
in which St. Clair was lying. 

lo give you my decision does not require an 
hour of meditation. I can give it to you now,^^ 
answered St. Clair intrepidly. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


265 


^‘What is it?^^ 

^T would rather die a thousand deaths than 
please you with this information. I would rather 
be victimized at your treacherous hands than 
earn the sweets of life and liberty at the damnable 
price of cowardice, for you can destroy nothing 
but my body — my life lives on.” 

^‘To tear you limb from limb and claw out 
your heart for the buzzards would not be suf- 
ficient to satisfy my hunger for revenge/’ snarled 
young Priest. 

^^No, I suppose not !” exclaimed St. Clair 
calmly. ^^There is but a small link between the 
rapacious human-brute and the carnivorous • 
vulture.” 

^^John, I’m getting damned tired of guarding 
this skunk !” exclaimed Pat Crow as he placed 
the lighted lantern upon a small table, and opened 
a pack of cards. 

‘^Then it’s up to you. Crow,” replied John as 
he seated himself at the table and began shuffling 
the cards. 

“What?” 


366 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


“The skinning of the skunk/’ laughed Priest. 

“Probably the Lord’s anointed would be inter- 
ested in the newspaper which contains his name 
in big headlines,” said Crow tauntingly as he 
tossed the paper upon St. Clair’s cot. At a 
glance St. Clair saw his name, as Crow had said, 
in big headlines, and picking up the paper he 
read eagerly the whole account of the suicide in 
the Colorado river. His blood boiled vdthin him 
as he laid the paper down and looked with con- 
tempt into the faces of his contriving kidnapers. 
“A dark and craven stratagem, fit only for cold- 
blooded villains.” 

“St. Clair, to prove that we are not dealing 
underhandedly with you; that our plottings are 
not kept from you; that we wish you to share 
with ns the pleasures of this dramatic tragedy of 
which you have just read, I am going to tell you 
what it means. The object of the scheme was 
to deceive the people of Texas into believing that 
you were dead that you died by your own hand, 
so as to prevent a search and inquiry when you 
were missed. Our plan worked like a charm. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


267 


The people all believe that you were drowned, 
and that your body is lost. So now it will be 
safe for us to mortally dispose of you, which we 
will do unless you reveal to us the hiding place 
of the Hewett papers,^’ said Priest as he dealt 
out the cards. 

""Curs that you are! You have shackled my 
legs, and I am at your mercy. You have the 
power to sever the mortal cords that bind my 
soul, but you cannot with your threats, revolvers, 
or daggers, force my tongue to articulate or my 
lips to utter the secrets I wish to keep inviolate. 
No! Not even the flames of hell could draw 
them from me.^’ 

""Well, since we have failed I suppose we might 
give the devil a cliance,^^ said Crow as he glanced 
over the cards in his hand. 

""Any affectionate word of farewell you wish to 
send to the heartbroken and credulous Miss Gra- 
ham asked young Priest insultingly. 

"‘You cowardly sneak. How dare you utter a 
name so sacred with lips so polluted.” 

""Here^s to the health and long life of the 


268 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


'Exalted Knight of the Laboring Clans,’ ” laughed 
Crow as he lifted a glass of sparkling liquor to 
hip lips. 

Kerens to the health and throbbing heart of 
the weeping ‘Joan of the Knight.’ May she still 
pursue unpursued, her knight,” toasted young 
Priest as he drank to the dregs of his glass. 

“Here’s to the rotten carcass of the Knight of 
the Bustle Clan! Here’s to the scalp of his 
cocoanut!” exclaimed Crow as he raised his sec- 
ond glass. 

Then it is up to me to drink again to the 
health of the black-eyed concubine of the distin- 
gnished 'Exalted Knight’ who graces this hour 
with his presence. Here it goes. Here’s to 
the — 

“Hands up ! Hands up !” cried a strange look- 
ing fellow as he pushed himself quickly into the 
cave with a drawn revolver in each hand. For 
a second young Priest and Crow were diim- 
founded. The glasses dropped with a crash upon 
the table. They could not understand the un- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 269 

ceremonious and significant approach of the 
stranger. 

^'Hands up! Hands up or I shoot!” com- 
manded the voice again, as the arms of the two 
villains were lifted in fear. ^^Search these men 
carefully, and place everything you find upon the 
cot!” exclaimed the stranger addressing the old 
negro who had by this time entered the cave. 
After about five minutes the old darkey finished 
his search, and as a result, two revolvers, two 
pocket knives, a few pieces of silver coin, and 
three or four keys lay upon the cot. 

""Bind their hands and feet with that rope!” 
was the next command of the mysterious person, 
which rang out as before in an assumed masculine 
tone. 

This being accomplished, young Priest and 
Crow in a half-drunken stupor, lay bound upon 
the fioor of the cave. During this time, St. Clair, 
who had sprung up in his cot, gazed in bewilder- 
ment upon the strange and exciting scene, and 
it was with exultant emotions he saw his bull- 
dozing abductors humiliated and disgraced in the 


270 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


toils of captivity. Silently, yet swiftly, the heroic 
stranger tried the keys in the lock that bound the 
chains around St. Clair's ankles, until the right 
one clicked the lock. 

St. Clair, loosed of his imprisoning fetters, 
sprang to his feet and grasping the hand of his 
deliverer exclaimed: ^^Thank God for this hour 
of freedom! Who are you? To whom am I 
indebted for this brave act ?" 

''Whom do you suppose?" asked the stranger 
as she lowered her head upon her breast. 

"I don't know! Who is it? Speak! Speak!" 

'A woman's love !" exclaimed the stranger, 
tearing off the masque. 

"My God, Lucile, can this be you !" cried St. 
Clair as he threw his arms passionately around 
her and drew the trembling girl to his bosom. 
Her head fell loosely upon his shoulder as she 
sank heavily within his embrace — she had 
fainted. 

As St. Clair laid the unconscious girl upon 
the cot, he saw a fixed smile upon her features, 
which was to him the silent testimonial of love 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


271 


and happiness ^lier heart had spoken a language 
niore potent than the tongue. TJnele Ned found 
a bucket of water near the entrance of the cave, 
and with this refreshing balsam of the mountain’s 
breast, St. Clair tenderly and anxiously bathed 
her face until at last she regained consciousness, 
and as she opened her eyes she looked up with a 
smile, and with trembling lips said softly : 

''George, forgive me for my cruel words of that 
afternoon — I — I^m so sorry.” 

"My heroine! My heroine!” exclaimed St. 
Clair as his hand fell gently upon her brow. 
"The past is in ashes; the present reunites us, 
and the future is ours. What more could my 
heart desire ? What more could my ambition 
encompass ?” 

"George, the sphere of my life is love, and 
upon its path we together shall journey toward 
our goal, at which begins the era of civic reform, 
the dawn of which already is casting its glow 
above the political horizon.” 

"How did you know I was here?” asked St. 
Clair fondly. 


373 THE NOBLEST EOMAN 

“My dear, the story is a long one; an awful 
one, and as I am now too weak for the task of 
relating it, I shall wait until we start for home,” 
said Lucile as she rose to her feet and glanced 
at her watch. “It is now half-past one.” 

“Get the horses quickly. Uncle Ned. We must 
be away from here at once, in order to reach 
home before the darkness of night emerges into 
the light of day.’’ 

''I don’t know what disposition to make of 
those devils over there/’ said St. Clair as he and 
Lucile moved toward them. 

^^Leave them here. They can soon loose them- 
selves and escape/’ answered Lucile as she looked 
down upon the miserable wretches at her feet. 

^^But they must be punished— they have grossly 
transgressed the laws of our country— they have 
basely violated the code of honor and decency, 
and as a result must suffer/’ said St. Clair as he 
looked down with contempt. 

For God’s sake, Lucile, have mercy on me! 
Spare me this disgrace 1 Your own father is as 
guilty as I, and unless you give me my liberty 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


273 


and guard what I have done with silent tongue 
1^11 i-uin him forever/’ cried John Priest. 

^^Lo you mean to say that my father is asso- 
ciated with you in this criminal contrivance?” 
asked Lucile with feigned surprise. 

Yes, and a hundred other crimes, each of 
which would put him behind prison bars, and 
where he will go, if you force me there,” threat- 
ened Ih’iest as he cast an angry glance toward 
St. Clair. 

believe you have lied against Judge Graham, 
but even if you have spoken the truth, you are 
none the less a sneaking coward to betray a fellow 
conspirator, and disregard the ethics that insti- 
tute honor among even thieves and brigands,” 
said St. Clair scornfully. 

'"Since we are bound and helpless you can 
afford to fling your imprecations between our 
teeth. You can afford to assume the role of a 
chivalrous knight and taunt us with your virtue,” 
snarled Priest. 

St. Clair thought of the insults with which 
they had but a short while before clothed the 


274 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


name of the girl he loved, and as he thought of 
how they used her pure name in the toasts of their 
drunken revelr}^, his blood boiled within him. 

''Dogs that you are. I now have the power 
to drink my fill of sweet retaliation. I have the 
power to bespatter these mountain walls with 
your brains and soak the ground with your blood, 
but as it is cowardly to take advantage of van- 
quished foes, I am going to give you a fair chance 
for your life. I am going to meet you honorably 
as man to man. There^s a debt on life's ledger 
that must be paid tonight, and nothing under 
Heaven or above hell can balance that account 
but the black hand of death." 

"Oh, George, what do you mean?" cried Lucile 
as she laid her trembling hand upon his arm. 

"I mean that I am going to revenge the slurs 
against your honor and virtue. That I am going 
to transform this rendezvous of tyrants into a 
cavern of honor." 

"Then for the sake of vengeance you would 
make a plaything of your life? No, you must 
not. ^ ou shall not take this chance of losing a 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


275 


life I have just saved and which is dearer to me 
than my own. The field of honor is not here, but 
amxid the toiling millions who are now battling 
against want and ruin. Then, again, I have a 
reason for wishing them to escape. I cannot tell 
you now what it is, but trust me in this and 
grant my wish.” 

''You are right, my dear, our lives are too 
useful to jeopardize them in the retribution of 
personal wrongs. We must save them for a 
greater sacrifice — we must save them for the moral 
cari\age of cold-blooded commercialism. Your 
wish is granted, dear, we shall leave them here.” 

"John Priest,” exclaimed Lucile, "you have 
sinned against God, and to Him alone must you 
answer for your crimes; therefore I leave you in 
the hands of 'Him, for it is written, 'Vengeance 
is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.^ Come, 
George, Uncle Ned is waiting outside with the 
horses. Come, let us leave this accursed place; 
this rendezvous of the brigand and dungeon of 
the plutocrat over which so much evil has 
brooded.” 


276 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


'^Honey, youse ride Prince and Marse George, 
yonse ride Pat, and dis ole nigger will foot hit,^^ 
said Uncle Ned as St. Clair and Lucile ap- 
proached. 

‘"No, Uncle Ned, you are old and feeble; I am 
young and spry, so you take the saddle and I 
will walk,’^ replied St. Clair atfectionately. 

""No, Marse George/’ answered the old darkey 
shaking his white woolly head and making a low 
bow, ""dis ole nigger ain’t made dat way.” 

Persuasion was useless, so after promising to 
send some one to meet Uncle Ned, St. Clair 
sprang into the saddle, and soon the clattering 
hoofs of Pat and Prince were heard upon the 
mountain road. 

“Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, 
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the 
angels.” 


CHAPTER XIII. 


“Shall we resign 

Our hopes, renounce our rights, forget our wrongs 
Because an impotent lip beneath a crown. 

Cries, ‘Be it so.’ ” 

O T. CLAIRES appearance in the city next 
morning was a mystery no one seemed able 
to interpret, as the ^^Exalted Knight of the Labor- 
ing Clans/^ whom the people had mourned as 
dead, was now alive in their midst. Reporters 
pressed him for an interview, but all the satis- 
faction they received was that his supposed tragi- 
cal disappearance was the base artifice of political 
tricksters, who in order to gain their sordid ends 
presented a farce-tragedy with a pusillanimous 
cast; that his personal belongings found upon the 
river’s bank were stolen from him presumedly for 
the purpose, and that the letters purporting to 
be his farewell declarations of vile perfidy were 
nothing less than fabrications or instruments of 
deceit. So with these few facts for a founda- 
tion, the reporters surmised enough to give to 
their respective newspapers a thrilling and exten- 


278 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


sive account of how St. Clair foiled the evil de- 
signs of his enemies, and rose victoriously over 
them. 

Three o^clock in the afternoon found him in 
the Graham home conversing seriously upon the 
political and domestic problems confronting them. 
Judge Graham had not yet returned, and Kate 
had ’phoned that her hostess wished her to spend 
another evening; therefore, Lucile and 'St. Clair 
had every moment to themselves, and were unin- 
terrupted in the formation of their plans. 

^Tn spite of your bold charge and brave action 
in rescuing me as a brand from the fire, we can- 
not sincerely claim to be wholly victorious, for in 
the end our enemies have materially triumphed 
over us, inasmuch as they have robbed our cause 
of the very essence of its vitality,” said St. Clair 
seriously. 

^T cannot see where they have defeated a single 
purpose of ours. We have the brain and sinew 
of the nation beneath our standard, and this great 
army of followers should inspire our progress,” 
replied Lucile defiantly. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


279 


‘^Yes, but the loss of the Hewett papers knocks 
the trolley from the charged wire ; in other words, 
we are handicapped, we are powerless to move 
forward with the charges against the men who 
are devastating our country and fattening them- 
selves upon the spoils.” 

^^The loss of the Hewett papers?” exclaimed 
Lucile perplexedly. ^'What do you mean? You 
told me last night that they could not find them, 
and had accused you of disposing of them before 
your capture. You now tell me they have them.” 

^^The papers were in my suitcase the evening 
of my capture, therefore, I am almost certain 
they found them when they took my baggage 
from my room, but that they pretended to know 
nothing of them in order to have an excuse for 
keeping me a prisoner until after the final ad- 
journment of the next Legislature,” explained St. 
Clair. 

^‘Then if you had the Hewett papers in your 
possession you could make and prove accusations 
that would rid the United States Senate of a 
despot — ” 


280 THE NOBLEST EOMAN 

1 es, and the State of Texas of a political 
cockatrice,” interrupted St. Clair scornfully. 

“Then, inasmuch as I sought to uphold the dig- 
nity of my State and defend what I believed then 
to be the pure name of her Senator, by sacrificing 
the loved one of my heart in the furtherance of 
those ends, I now go forth to abrogate my sacri- 
ficial act, and with a burning vengeance actuated 
by a bruised heart, I accompany you, my dear 
boy, to the civic arena, the field of honor, to there 
strike against Bradley, the knighted traitor of 
the legislative battlefield,” said Lueile sadly, as 
tears filled her eyes and rolled down her flushed 
cheeks. 

Those tears upon my lips are as sweet as the 
dew of morning upon the withering petals of a 
thirsty flower,” exclaimed St. Clair as he kissed 
away the tears. 

“They only represent the offering I am about 
to lay upon the altar of my country. I have just 
found papers in the possession of my father which 
link his judicial acts, not only with the conspir- 
acies of Senator Bradley and the Brooks-Priest 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


281 


Oil Company, but with many other powerful in- 
terests. I have to acknowledge with bowed head 
and aching bosom the awful truth of his many 
intrigues with the forces of organized capital, 
which reflect their light upon his betrayal of the 
laboring people, and cast their weird shadows 
over the Graham home, for I would rather be a 
poor beggar-girl upon the street earning virtu- 
ously and honestly my pennies than to be the 
child of a judicial free-booter and share the spoils 
of such infamous trafiic,” answered Lucile in a 
tone that bespoke the moral strength of a pure 
noble woman. 

‘^Lucile, a spirit like yours is too beautiful for 
this earth of selfish mortals; it ought to be a gem 
in the crown of Jehovah,^^ said St. Clair as he 
pressed her hand in his own and gazed fondly 
into the face of his beloved — the incarnate struc- 
ture of divine patriotism. 

'^Thank you, George, but this is not an hour 
of flattery; it must be an hour of deeds, not 
words,^’ replied Lucile as she lifted from the 


282 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


large library table a bundle of papers in the shape 
of a scroll. 

^‘George, take these letters which incriminate 
the official acts of my father ; take them with a 
crushed heart for the honor and safety of Texas/^ 
said Lucile as she extended the hand containing 
the papers. 

'"My dear, in accepting these letters, the silent 
yet loud testimonials of your father's shame and 
dishonor, I do so as the executor of the stern com- 
mands of Justice, and in following this course I 
shall be subservient to your desires as to the 
method of procedure," answered St. Clair as he 
unfolded his arms from his breast and took the 
papers. 

''George, in lifting my hand in the defense of 
the honor of Texas, I raise it against the dishonor 
of my father; therefore, my desire is that we 
defend the interests of our people without unveil- 
ing the awful shame that has invaded my home 
and destroyed its sanctity." 

"Then in that case, my dear, there is but one 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


283 


course open to your father beneath the veil that 
hides his crimes/^ 

^mat is that?” 

^^The immediate resignation of his seat in the 
State Judiciary and his retirement forever from 
all offices of governmental trust,” replied St. Clair 
emphatically. 

^^George, I don’t believe father will submit to 
those terms, for his haughty spirit will doubtless 
rebel at the thought of such condescension.” 

“That is his only avenue of escape, and surely 
he will prefer that which appears to be a volun- 
tary resignation to the humiliation of compulsory 
expulsion through the process of impeachment.” 

“Since I learned the truth of my father’s dis- 
loyalty to his people, I have fought a terrible 
battle with myself upon the line of decision. In 
my mind I saw two contending forces, each bat- 
tling for my services. Upon one side were filial 
duties and affections, while upon the other were 
oppressed hosts of laboring people, contending for 
their natural and inalienable rights usurped from 
them by the arbitrary power of combined capital 


284 


THE NOBLEST HOMAN 


operating through their hired agents, the trusted 
and unfaithful representatives of the people. I 
weighed these respective issues in the scales of 
my conscience, like grains of gold in a pair of 
balances, therefore, as a result I am now ready 
to answer the call of my country, and in the 
name of the liberties of her people, surrender to 
her sacrificial altar my sacred ties of flesh and 
blood,” said Lucile with trembling lips as fresh 
tears roiled down upon each flushed cheek like 

“Dew-drops, which the sun 
Impearls on every leaf and every flower.” 

“My dear, the motive that inspires this action 
of yours is akin to that which prompted the old 
patriarch of antiquity to bind his Isaac on 
Moriah^s altar of fagots.” 

Yes, but my sacrifice will be greater, for there 
will be no lamb forthcoming — no voice to com- 
mand the staying of the knife.” 

Lucile, we must be brave and bear whatever 
comes with the fortitude of a true Christian 
soldier and American patriot, for I feel that God 
is outlining our course and directing our steps, 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


285 


therefore, if He be for us, no man can prevail 
against us — 

''No, not even the gates of hell!'' interrupted 
Lucile. 

"If the people could only realize their great 
strength, and have faith in the Omnipotent power 
that gives force to every blow struck in their 
defense, this faith would be like a bombshell in 
the ranks of our enemies, driving them terror- 
stricken from the field of conquest," said St. Clair 
forcibly. 

Lucile stepped from the room and returned 
with a square shaped package. 

George, I have here a bomb which when 
exploded will not only terrorize our aristocratic 
adversaries, but madden our own hosts into an 
action so effective that the bloody throne of Plu- 
tocracy will be leveled to the dust, and its sceptre 
consumed in the conflagration of a people's 
wrath." 

"My God, Lucile, the Hewett papers ! Where 
under Heaven did you get them?" exclaimed St. 


286 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


Clair wildly as Lucile unwrapped the iron box 
that held them. 

During the next few minutes she told the story 
of her connection with the papers; how in her 
eagerness to save the man she believed to be inno- 
cent, she slipped unnoticed and disguised from 
her room a short while after St. Clair’s departure 
from her home the afternoon of the estrangement 
and broken engagement; how she went to the 
hotel, watched her opportunity, and when he left 
his room, entered and took from his suitcase the 
iron box with its contents which had caused such 
a disturbance only a short while before, and with 
the prize of her conquest, returned home and 
locked it in her trunk. 

‘‘And you really believed you had captured 
Pandora’s box of evils?” interrupted St. Clair 
with renewed enthusiasm. 

‘‘Yes, and I also thought I was lifting a crown 
of thorns from the brow of one who was being 
unjustly crucified upon the rough cross of envy 
and hatred, but little did I realize that in so 
doing, I was only snatching the noose from the 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


287 


neck of a political and avaricious Judas who had 
pressed a kiss of betrayal upon the lips of Texas.’’ 

“It is indeed fortunate that you accomplished 
your purpose by gaining possession of these papers 
upon that eventful day, for had they remained in 
my suitcase they would now in all probability.be 
in the vaults of the Brooks-Priest Oil Company, 
and consequently our plans for this great warfare 
of right against wrong would be thwarted, and 
our onward march to the goal of a stainless flag 
temporarily impeded if not permanently checked.” 

“In securing the papers I was only an instru- 
ment in the Divine Hand which ^moves in a mys- 
terious way His wonders to perform,’ ” said 
Lucile reverently. 

“I have a conference with the Attorney Gen- 
eral tonight, at which time I shall place in his 
hands this box of papers,” said St. Clair as he 
laid it on the table by his side. 

“George, in doing that you take the initial step 
against boodlers, government office- traffickers, and 
the vilest of political prostitutes. It is needless 
for me to say to you, do your duty, for such is 


288 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


the incentive of all your acts; but for my sake 
and for the cause that is dearer than life, be care- 
ful and shift clear of the clutches of these des- 
picable oppressors of the poor/^ pleaded Lucile 
affectionately. 

^^Of course, we cannot tell how this campaign 
will terminate, but should I become a victim of 
the wrath of my enemies, I wish you to keep this 
as a remembrance of me,^^ said St. Clair as he 
took from his pocket a small gold locket and 
chain. ^^This is the only certificate I have of my 
legitimate birth; the only gift I have from my 
mother and father, whom I do not remember nor 
know anything of. The matron of the orphanage 
to which I was taken, said I was brought there 
by a young girl who claimed to have found me 
lost and alone on a street in New York City. 
Everything was done to locate my parents, but to 
no avail, so as a seemingly parentless child I was 
domiciled in that New York orphanage until 
adopted and taken by Senator Bradley and his 
wife to their home in Texas.” 



“George, take thes(‘ letters which incriminate 
the official acts of 1113^ father; take them with a crushed 
heart fo'- the honor and safety of Texas,” said Lucile 
as she extended the hand containing the papers. — 
Page 282. 








[ ' ^ Hi- 


•■• Vifl^ 




•s'* * 


I 


c». -* 


liw V 

t' fi . 


H 


f 


V 4.' "v 


■ tl ’ 




■K' 


• f y. Tf •• * I* 

V^v" ■ -1 

■ «stf% » * \ 



vV* 

■• **« V/ <• 


h' 




I » « n * . t* ^ -i- J ♦ ^- •■ w-p 

- ■ V. - U-:^M V V*5; S> ^ V. ^ 

,'* iii^-.l'''*' ••■*»-■.« ~¥Waa • .<Tr 


l-H' ' i • i‘j 

►v_ ' 'V ■"' ■ ’*J‘'r‘‘‘- 

U-^ * 

W£ • ' * i, f. 


^ f 


H 


j. 


>'■> -A 


> ‘ K 






*' 


*# 



* ’ ' i , 

►1^. ^ 




-* A ^ 

y'.'-f 


liisiii. ■'. -' ■'i;,' yr ' 

■Sft^C »4«** • 


'■ A* 



*.• 

x.V 






i 'i. V' 


■ ; . «• 


J^'C 


* s 


a 


ii'. ■' 



-.4-^ •> 


.W.- . 7.'Kf««9’V:''^''‘- 

i"; T>. . * •<; 'JtenIC. - 

y.- w.-'. 'X'^ 

? /♦. r»^' WT'*_„ ‘ • s«Ai 

»■ .^^'^-caar,^' ,4^ 

*j1 .» 1^ 

'• .V#-.';#C 

, .- ■: S* .. 

i_ . , ,.f-:-; ..telJ 




:1J 


•-■• » « 


’f>*4r 




II 




HfiSC 


A. 


.1‘P^ it. ™, 
j ^ i ’^a* 






> 


"r., 


•> 


* r ^ ^ ^*2 

' -r . ; , .r 

‘S ^BuS V .■ti,^:f -i\ :. 


\ 



-••J 


:'<?v ^ 




jL . '' 


X\ ^ 


[jk« 







rt^*- '.V iy 

* • • ^ .f ‘ “* 

l 'mt,i* v 

< ^1 • ^WK r' 

• . . . -i* ^ 



THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


289 


^^But where did you get the locket and chain 
asked Lucile in a perplexed tone. 

^^The matron gave it to Mrs. Bradley, and told 
her it was. fastened around my neck when I was 
brought to the orphanage,” replied St. Clair. 

''To Baby St. Clair from Mamma and Papa/' 
read Lucile as she gazed tenderly upon the locket. 

“There is nothing 1 appreciate more than I do 
this remembrance of your babyhood, George, for 
I feel that your mother and father, whoever they 
may have been, were kind and noble people, for 
no other than tender hearts and lofty characters 
had those words of affection engraved there. 
Then again, ^like begets like,^ therefore such a 
pure and magnanimous son could hardly have 
been the offspring of a dissimilar parentage.” 

“My dear, I appreciate your words of love and 
kindness, but I suppose upon this earth I shall 
never be able to clear this mystery,” added St. 
Clair reflectively. 

“Well, I am going to guard and treasure this 
keepsake of yours, and revere the parents of the 
greatest man in the world by wearing it only upon 


290 


THE NOBLEST EGMAN 


occasions that bring honor to their son/^ ex- 
claimed Lucile as she fastened the chain gently 
around her neck and pressed the locket to her lips. 

“To hallow’d duty, 

Here with a loyal and heroic heart, 

Bind we our lives.” 


CHAPTER XIV. 


• “Now does he feel his title 
Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe 
Upon a dwarfish thief.” 

¥ OHX PRIEST and Crow arrived in Dallas 
^ the day following St. ClaiPs release from 
the cave, and were soon in conference with Judge 
Graham, who with wild frenzy listened to their 
story of Lucile^s midnight charge in the defense 
of the man who stood as a colossal figure across 
his path, transversing his course to the richer 
fields of political glory and commercial wealth. 
He took the next train for Austin, and was soon 
in the presence of his daughter. 

‘T have already heard with deep humiliation 
and shame how you in the guise of assumed mas- 
culinity disgraced yourself forever.” 

^‘Yes, and I have found how you, in the ermine 
of judicial power and beneath the vestments of 
public confidence, are wrecking and ruining your 
country,” answered Lucile intrepidly. 

‘^My God ! What do you mean by making this 


292 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


bold charge against your father exclaimed 
Judge Graham vehemently. 

‘^What I have just said bears no other construc- 
tion — you are guilty of bribery.” 

‘^That damned scoundrel St. Clair has influ- 
enced you against me by allegations as false as he 
is false !” exclaimed J udge Graham angrily. 

^Tt was not he^ who discovered your crimes,” 
added Lucile. 

^^Then, in your thirst for vengeance against 
your father you would seek to ruin and dishonor 
him by mere presumption.” 

^^No, in this attack against you and your con- 
genial confederate — the hypocritical Bradley, we 
are not charging with pop-guns of presumption, 
but with fixed bayonets of positive proof — the 
written instruments of your perfidious negotia- 
tions against the sinewy sons of toil, and with 
these creations of your corruption we move 
against you.” 

^^Then, if such are to be your weapons of vin- 
dictive attack, you advance with a forged armory, 
for my hand has never penned so much as a word 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


293 


derogatory to the welfare of Texas or to the inter- 
ests of the people/^ replied Judge Graham 
forcibly. 

father who would deceive and crush the 
heart of his child by causing her to believe that 
the man she loved was dead^ and at the same 
time was secretly conspiring to destroy him, is 
indeed cruel, and so destitute of principle that 
he would without a single scruple make merchan- 
dise of his country, and at the shrine of Mercury 
offer his own countrym^,^^ answered Lucile with 
much feeling. 

‘^^By those words you desecrate the blood within 
your veins; you profane the name you bear!’^ 
cried the Judge as he sank down into the large 
chair by his side. 

^^By those words I revere the blood of my 
mother, a blood that is royal because she to her 
country was loyal,^^ replied Lucile passionately. 

Before Judge Graham had time to answer, the 
servant announced St. Clair. 

^^How dare he! How dare he!’’ exclaimed the 


294 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


Judge fiercely, as Lucile left the library to meet 
St. Clair in the hallway. 

^^George, father is here with his war-paint on/^ 
whispered Lucile. 

^^Still after my scalp, I suppose,^^ exclaimed 
St. Clair in a low tone. 

^^He has heard it all from John Priest and 
Crow, and severely censures me for my action 
the other night; and when he mentions your 
name he becomes frantic; therefore, my dear, you 
must leave the house at once, as Father is not 
in the proper mood for you to approach him,^’ 
said Lucile nervously. 

^"My darling, I must see him at once, as he 
and I must understand each other more thor- 
oughly,’" replied St. Clair emphatically. 

“But in meeting him you will encounter a 
storm — a raging storm,”^ warned Lucile as she 
laid her hand upon St. Clair’s shoulder. 

“Then, my dear, what I have to say will calm 
the storm and silence the thunderbolt.” 

“But, George, I am afraid there will be trou- 
ble,” replied Lucile pleadingly. 


THE jSTOBLEST EOMAN 


295 


Lucile, there will be no trouble, I promise 
you this, so favor me by doing what is best for 
us all/^ 

^^Tben come with me to the library/^ said 
Lucile as she led the way. 

“What do you want here?^^ exclaimed Judge 
Graham as St. Clair followed Lucile into the 
library. 

“I wish to see you upon a very important mat- 
ter,” answered St. Clair calmly. 

“I do not care to see you at all; your impor- 
tant matters do not interest me in the least,” 
replied the Judge with a savage growl. 

“But this matter is of vital interest to us both.” 

“I repeat again, sir, I do not wish to see you; 
so go, leave my house at once.” 

“But you will see me. I came here for that 
purpose and will not leave until I have this inter- 
view with you. I am a gentleman, and as such 
demand the courtesies due a gentleman,” replied 
St. Clair boldly. 

“I must admit, sir, you have an extraordinary 
case of abnormal gall.” 


296 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


mission here today is not to hear yonr 
diagnosis of my physical infirmities, but one of 
more import. I come as the representative of 
down-trodden thousands,^^ said St. Clair delib- 
erately. 

“Yes, you are right, you are the leader of the 
rabble; an ill-bred fractional part of the riff- 
raff who are today howling as curs at the feet of 
great and noble men,^^ replied the Judge scorn- 
fully. 

“My blood is as pure as yours, and were it not 
for the love and respect I have for your daughter, 
I would give your accusations the lie and brand 
you with its stigma. I am proud to acknowledge 
my leadership of a people who have risen in the 
majesty of their citizenship against Senator Brad- 
ley and his fellow conspirators, in freeing Texas 
forever from the prince of demagogues and his 
royal court of political debauchery,^^ said St. 
Clair defiantly. 

“There is 5^our hat, there is the door, and 
vonder you^ll find the street. Go! I again and 

Ml ■ 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


297 


for the last time command that you leave my 
home now and forever !” cried the J udge angrily. 

'T shall go, Judge, when I communicate to you 
certain demands relevant to your future and the 
dignity and safety of Texas.^^ 

‘‘What are those demands, sir?” asked the 
Judge disdainfully after a moment’s reflection. 

“That you resign the office you now hold, and 
retire forever from the body politic,” answered 
St. Clair resolutely. 

“Eesign ! What do you mean ?” exclaimed the 
Judge with an assumed expression of perplexity. 

“You have judged the interests of the common 
people as a Supreme Judge of our State through 
the influence of combined capital. You have 
taken the staff of commercial progress and finan- 
cial development from the hands of the daily 
laborer and placed it as a sceptre in the vaults 
of Wall Street. You have desecrated the oracle 
of Justice by transforming it into a market house 
where you bartered the liberties of the poor peo- 
ple — their natural heritage — for a mess of golden 
pottage. Therefore, as an imposter, your moral 


298 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


right to an office of trust and honor is forfeited,” 
expostulated St. Clair fearlessly. 

^^By what authority do you demand a dignitary 
of the State to resign his commission?” asked 
Judge Graham with shameless audacity. 

''By the implied authority vested in me by the 
laboring people of Texas.” 

"What proof have you, St. Clair, to substan- 
tiate these false and slanderous charges ?” 

"Positive proof, Judge, positive proof. Writ- 
ten documents of your own hand which cry out 
with accusations against you,” replied St. Clair. 

"You are not only a liar, but a forger, and 
Pll make a jail-bird of you before night !” cried 
Judge Graham bitterly. 

"Father, be careful; you have raised your hand 
too often already against the man I love. He is 
neither a liar nor a forger, for the papers to 
which he refers are without doubt your own, as 
I myself found them among your letters and gave 
them to him,” said Lucile, who up to this time 
had silently listened to the heated words which 
passed between her father and St. Clair. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


299 


‘^What ! You, my own child ! Have you de- 
livered your father into the hands of his enemies 
to be consumed by their insults?’^ exclaimed the 
Judge passionately. 

^^No. I’m going to shelter you from them by 
giving you an opportunity to escape, but I would 
be untrue to my country to remain silent and 
passive while even a father was preying upon 
the vitals of the nation,” replied Lucile. 

^^Escape ! Escape from what ?” exclaimed the 
Judge irritably. 

^^From the shame that surrounds you on every 
side, and from the moral infections with which 
you have soiled your ermine,” answered Lucile. 

^^Like a slimy serpent you have crawled between 
a father and his child, burying your poisonous 
fangs in the ties that bind them,” snarled Judge 
Graham as he rose impetuously and faced St. 
Clair. 

‘‘'No ! You have severed those ties yourself by 
prostituting your natural allegiance to the great- 
est State in the Union, and by betraying the best 
people in the world,” declared St. Clair. 


300 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


'T tell you again to leave this house. If you 
don’t. I’ll kick you out as I would a miserable 
dog!” cried Judge Graham harshly. 

^^Father! This is my home. I hold a deed 
to it in my own name; therefore, I forbid you 
to exercise such bold authority over my guest!” 
exclaimed Lucile as she stepped between her 
father and St. Clair. 

^^My child ! My child ! Are you going to obey 
the dire commands of a cold-blooded enemy by 
driving your poor old father over the precipice 
of ruin?” cried the Judge in a tone of deep 
agony. 

Judge Graham, you are the father of the girl 
who has promised to be my wife, and for that 
reason I wish to spare you the open disgrace 
which the punishment of your several crimes 
would inevitably bring upon you — 

^^Sir! I am not at your mercy, so you need 
not suffer yourself the trouble of sparing me the 
torment and humiliation at the hands of such 
savagery as you incite,” interrupted the Judge. 

^Tt is for your own daughter’s sake that I have 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


301 


shown you the mercy of a magnanimous compro- 
mise; for her only have I made a single conces- 
sion/’ replied St. Clair. 

''My daughter ! I have no daughter ; from this 
day 1 disinherit her of all my property, and were 
it not for the deed to this house she has in her 
possession, I would drive her from this domain, 
for she is unworthy the name of Graham.” 

'‘Though I hold the deed to this home, it is not 
mine by moral right. It belongs to the people 
of Texas, for every dollar expended upon it is but 
the crystallized tears of poverty; therefore, in the 
name of my God and my country, I am going to 
convert this palatial home, in which is the 'gloss 
of satin and glimmer of pearls,’ into an orphanage, 
that its beneficiaries may bless and preserve the 
sacred traditions which, entwined with the ivy, 
cling to its walls.” 

"No other but the brain of a degenerate child 
would conceive such thoughts of desecration;, no 
other would cast such a dark shadow upon an 
aristocratic genealogy,” said Judge Graham dis- 
tractedly as he paced the fioor while curses flowed 
unspoken from his heart. 


302 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


^Tn turning this home into an orphanage, I 
hope to abrogate the infamy you have brought 
upon the house of your fathers by mortgaging 
your soul to the devil and selling your pledged 
services to corrupt monopolies, replied Lucile 
decidedly. 

^^Enough ! Enough !” cried Judge Graham, 
shall bare my breast no longer to the barbed 
darts of such maledicency !” 

Judge, for the last time I ask if you will 
acquiesce in our requests for your resignation 
from the Judiciary?” asked St. Clair. 

^^No ! You wretch ! I’d see you in hell first !” 
exclaimed the Judge hotly. 

“Judge, I would not trespass upon your own 
principality down there to arbitrate this question. 
The decrees of the people are compulsory, there- 
fore, in behalf of their sovereignty I demand your 
resignation within thirty days,” replied St. Clair 
vehemently as he left the library, followed by 
Lucile. 

“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, 
Rough-hew them how we will.” 


CHAPTEE XV. 


“Yet I must tell thee, it would better suit 
A fierce despotic chief of barbarous slaves, 

Than the calm dignity of one who sits 
In the grave senate of a free republic, 

To talk so high, and as it were to thrust 
Plebeians from the native rights of man.” 

great conference styled as the ^^Knights 
^ of the Laboring Clan/^ which met in the 
City of Galveston, adjourned sine die. George 
St. Clair, their former leader, was re-elected 
Exalted Knight of as loyal clansmen as ever ral- 
lied beneath the standard of Scotland's Bruce. 
Their committee on ^^Civic Keform^’ had been 
extremely vigilant during the past year, and as 
a result, unearthed much treachery among the 
government officials against the interests of the 
common people. 

Among the many charges reported by this com- 
mittee, there were forty-two brought against Sen- 
ator Bradley, each substantially hacked by iron- 
clad evidence which threw its light of revealment 
upon the official acts of the Senator, who for 


304 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


bribes disguised as personal loans, represented 
interests adverse to those of his people. They 
discovered that he was the only Democrat in the 
L^nited States Senate that stood shoulder to 
shoulder with Aldrich, the base incarnation of 
the Gigantic Oil Company, and voted with him 
for the infam^ous Aldrich fiscal bill ; that he voted 
against the canal bill, which if passed would have 
given the people cheaper transportation rates; 
liow he aligned himself with the railroads to de- 
feat the Rate Bill by attempting to engraft an 
amendment upon that bill, which in the consensus 
of opinion of the profoundest constitutional law- 
yers of the country, would have killed it; how he 
voted against the bill limiting the hours of labor- 
ers, mechanics, etc., employed upon the public 
works of the United States to eight hours; that 
he was the only Democrat in Congress who en- 
joyed the distinction of having his name ciphered 
in the Gigantic Oil code. 

With these charges, St. Clair returned to Austin 
to represent his district in the next session of the 
Legislature that was to convene two days hence. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


305 


On the night before the Legislature assembled, 
St. Clair, with a few other Eepresentatives who 
were ready to aid him in his charges against Sen- 
ator Bradley, met in a downtown law oflBce to 
formulate methods of procedure against the dem- 
agogic usurper of official power. It was at this 
caucus that St. Clair produced a resolution he 
had prepared concerning the contemplated inves- 
tigation of Senator Bradley, which afterwards be- 
came famous as the “^^St. Clair Eesolution.” 

At last the day for the opening of the Legis- 
lature arrived, at which time the Bradley machine 
began to operate; its strategetic wheels began to 
revolve on its old familiar axis of bribery, which 
were lubricated with a generous supply of Gigan- 
tic oil. Many political mechanics hung around 
the old machine with assumed devotion, endeavor- 
ing to stop the hissing of the steam, which they 
for a time succeeded in doing; but an explosion 
consequently followed, besmirching those around 
the prodigious machine with oil and grease, the 
stains of which will never wear off. 

As Senator Bradley^s term in Congress was 


306 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


about to expire, the Democratic ticket for the 
primary of the preceding July contained his name 
as a candidate for re-election. The returns of 
the primary election showed that he had received 
the nomination of his party, which was ratified 
by the Democratic State convention held in 
Dallas. Therefore, as the Democratic nominee, 
his name was to be presented during the forth- 
coming session of the Legislature to be voted 
upon by that body. 

A terrific bomb burst in the Bradley camp a 
few days after the formal opening of the session, 
when St. Clair arose from the seat at his desk in 
the House and offered his resolution to investigate 
Senator Bradley’s corporate connections, and out- 
lining the method of procedure of such investiga- 
tion. No document could have represented more 
fully the fundamental principles of Democracy; 
every word breathed its magnanimous doctrine; 
but what are principles to men who wreck their 
country in order to fatten their individual re- 
sources upon its spoils? 

No sooner. had the resolution been offered, when 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


307 


Kennel, the master mechanic of the Bradley 
machine, offered a substitute intended only as a 
whitewash. The line of battle was now drawn; 
on one side was Bradley and his infernal bucca- 
neers; on the other was St. Clair and his Knights 
of the Laboring Clan. - Over the former the curses 
of hell cast their shadows; over the latter, the 
blessings of Heaven fell. During the entire ses- 
sion the Bradley forces were in the majority, and 
over every issue coming before that body their 
sceptre swayed with despotic power, consequently 
the St. Clair resolution was defeated by the Ken- 
nel substitute, which was nothing less than a 
gilded subterfuge — a moral barricade for the de- 
fense of the modern Catiline. 

The perfidious investigation of Senator Brad- 
ley began, and nowhere in the annals of history 
except in the ancient courts of political debauch- 
ery can be found its parallel. The Hewett papers, 
bearing plainly upon their face the stigma of the 
Senator's guilt, were offered in evidence and cor- 
roborated by impregnable testimony ; yet, this Sen- 
ator, steeped in plutocratic venom and smeared 


308 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


with the slime of Judas Iscariot^s shame, was 
found ^^Not Guilty’^ of the charges preferred 
against him by St. Clair. Bradley, the accused 
of the people, through the arbitrary power of his 
political machine, became in himself the whole 
inquisition, in which Democratic principles were 
trampled beneath cloven feet as trivially as 
‘^pearls before swine” ; for the standard of monop- 
olism was the ensign hoisted above the oracle of 
this deified Senator. The Great I Am, who from 
his mighty throne demanded the false testimony 
with which to veneer his pollution with sancti- 
monious whiteness, and with which to clip his 
webbed wings that he might more easily assume 
the role of a virtuous god, and send throughout 
the kingdom of his crown the royal decree, 
''Hence forth the King Can Do No Wrong/' 

While the investigation was in progress, the 
day set forth in the Constitution for the election 
of a Gnited States Senator arrived. Justice de- 
manded that through legitimate strategy the elec- 
tion be put off day after day until the investi- 
gating committee finished their work and made 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


309 


their report^ but the Senator, condemned by his 
own conscience, felt uneasy as does ^The head that 
wears a crown^^ ; so in the rigor of his supremacy 
he issued through his machine a decree that the 
election be had upon the day set apart for it; 
therefore, the legislative hell-hounds who followed 
in the wake of the royal master like swine after 
a swill-can, were ready to execute by their gilded 
votes his infamous decree. 

While St. Clair was the recognized leader of 
the anti-Bradley forces, he was instructed by his 
district to cast his vote in the Legislature for 
Senator Bradley’s re-election to the Senate. The 
eyes of all politicians were focused upon him 
What was he going to do? Was he going to dis- 
regard the instruction of his constituency and 
cast his vote in harmony with his own personal 
convictions? As the roll was called, each mem- 
ber responded to his name by voting for or against 
the Senator. 

The gallery was crowded with spectators, each 
impatiently waiting for St. Clair’s name to be 
called ; but amid that great throng of men, women 


310 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


and children sat one whose heart beat faster as 
the long list of names were being read. She 
looked down with pride upon her lover at his 
desk, and when she saw all eyes turned fondly 
upon him, an expression of admiration passed 
over her features. 

The Reading Clerk called St. Clair’s name. 
For a moment a breathless silence prevailed over 
the vast assembly, but as St. Clair rose to his 
feet the silence gave way to the loud cheering 
which drowned the sound of the Speaker’s gavel 
as he tried to restore order. A smile of satisfac- 
tion played over the face of St. Clair afe he turned 
his eyes toward the gallery — the hearts of the 
people had spoken their message and he received 
it. All was again still as he opened his mouth 
to speak. 

^^Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, Ladies and 

Gentlemen : 

individually, I am convinced beyond a rea- 
sonable doubt that Senator Bradley is guilty of 
all the infamous conduct with which he is 
charged, but in behalf of the instruction of the 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


311 


people I represent, I feel in honor bound to cast 
their vote with which I am vested, for Senator 
Bradley. In my judgment it is a grievous error, 
but it is their error, not mine. They have agreed 
to assume the responsibility, and I pass it up to 
them. In my opinion, Bradley is not only un- 
worthy of the great office of Senator, but he is 
absolutely infamous. I regard him as I do any 
other criminal. I cannot escape the conclusion 
that he who has betrayed his people into the 
hands of a commercial pirate for gold is a traitor 
to his country. Left to vote my own sentiments, 
I would gladly -defy all his minions of infamy 
and vote against him; but a man must live up 
to his ideals. My ideal of a good government is 
one in which the people^s will is supreme. I 
think it is better for a Representative to vote for 
a bad man; yea, a moral leper, as I believe Brad- 
ley to be, than to shatter an ideal of representative 
government, the observance of which is the hope 
of the nation. Having discharged ^with scrupu- 
lous fidelity my promise to my people, I desire to 


312 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


take my place for the future among those who 
despise and defy him/ ’’ 

As St. Clair finished speaking, the gallery once 
more resounded with deafening applause, and as 
he turned to acknowledge their greeting, thou- 
sands of waving handkerchiefs met his vision; but 
amid the waves of that agitated sea of humanity 
sat one whose heart was too full of joy for out- 
ward demonstration, save the tears which glis- 
tened in her eyes as she looked down from the 
gallery upon her idol in the House whose face 
was turned toward her, and as she caught his 
eyes she responded with the sentiment of her soul 
lifting to her lips the locket he had given her, 
by which act she revered the parents of the man 
she loved, and honored the hero of the hour. 

The vote was counted, and when the Speaker 
read the results of the election, a low murmur 
of indignation was heard throughout the gallery — 
the people had spoken again. As the Speaker 
was declaring Senator Bradley duly elected to 
represent the people of Texas in the Senate of the 
United States, the House suddenly grew dark. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


313 


and before he had finished, loud crashes of thun- 
der were heard, followed by angry gusts of wind. 
It seemed as though God was manifesting His dis- 
pleasure in the victory won by the oppressor of 
His children, by casting a cloud of shame over the 
people’s House of Representation, the sanctity of 
which was destroyed by the machine of an un- 
scrupulous politician, who, in the lust for gold, 
had made of it a den of thieves. 

The committee appointed by the Speaker es- 
corted Senator Bradley to the platform, where 
the oath of office was administered, after which 
he was presented to the members of the House 
and Senate, who were now in joint session. As 
he moved to the front of the platform his follow- 
ers received him with shouts. 

“With ravish’d ears. 

The monarch hears, 

Assumes the god. 

Affects to nod, 

And seems to shake the spheres.” 

“Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the Legislature: 

“It is customary on occasions like this for a 
man to thank his friends and forgive his enemies. 


314 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


I shall conform to that custom far enough to 
say that the men who stood by me so loyally in 
this long and bitter contest can command me to 
the last drop of my heart’s best blood, but I will 
not play the hypocrite by pretending to forgive 
my enemies. Mark my words — the people of this 
State will soon learn that this is but the initial 
battle for the control of the Democratic party in 
Texas. They will soon learn, as most of them 
have already learned, that as their representative 
in the Senate of the United States I am indis- 
pensable to their domestic, social and political 
tranquility.” (Laughter and applause.) 

^^Even the Lilliputian enemies must sooner or 
later yield to the great Grulliver who today has 
triumphed over them, for his sword is drawn and 
the scabbard destroyed, and to George St. Clair, 
the leader of the gang against me, whose ambi- 
tion is as boundless as his ability is limited, I say, 
for you and your infernal hosts to stand against 
me for a day, means utter destruction to your 
camp of calumniators, who like yourself have said 
things about me that they would not for their 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN 


315 


lives say to me. When a man says that I am 
not honest, he is a liar; but I have not come to 
prove to you that I am honest, but to show you 
what a set of infernal scoundrels they are that 
are after me. I do not apologize for anything I 
have done. 1 ask no quarter. I cry not for 
peace. I am for war. Let it be Var to the 
knife and knife to the hilT ; and I exclaim : ^Lay 
on, Macduff, and damn’d be he who first cries, 
^^hold, enough !” ’ When I have finished with 
these creatures, I will make them wish they had 
never been born. I would drive their myrmidons 
into the Gulf of Mexico, but I hate to befoul the 
waters of the gulf. 

will never stop until they are exterminated, 
horse, foot and dragon, as I am enlisted in this 
war to the bitter end. I shall press this battle 
until their whole brood of hell are driven in dis- 
grace and shame to the obscurity which awaits 
them, for we are going to bury them in cam- 
phored ice with their faces upward to preserve 
them for future punishment. If the Saviour of 
the world were to come down here and testify for 


31G 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


me, they would cry out, ^crucify Him/ May God 
have mercy on the souls of liars. I do not love 
money well enough to tempt me to be dishonest, 
as I have got about all I need. What I want now 
is revenge, and if I were dying, I would get well 
to light these hyenas, for my rule is when a man 
smites me on one cheek, to smite him on both. 
I have not played the blandid demagogue; I have 
not waved the red flag, and cried out against 
every man whose shirt was white and clean, and, 
so help me God, I never will teach such a despic- 
able doctrine. I do not think it a crime to pros- 
per in this world, nor do I think a bath-tub is a 
sign of national decay. I call you to witness that 
I did not invite this contest, and as I was not 
the flrst to call it on, I shall be the last to call 
it off.’’ 

For another hour the Senator continued to 
speak, during which time he made many flatter- 
ing promises to the people, which he never in- 
tended to carry into effect, but used them merely 
as a dyke to restrain the great tidal wave of 
public opinion he saw rushing in upon him, which 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


317 


was growing stronger and more voluminous as it 
approached the temple of the egoical god. 

The unprincipled and facetious public orator, 
who in the past had obtained an influence over 
the people by great professions and by suiting 
his addresses to the prejudices of his hearers, had 
now concluded his remarks, and was taking his 
seat upon the platform amid the applause of his 
credulous followers and avaricious hirelings. All 
e3^es were now directed to the desk at which St. 
Clair was sitting, for they expected him to reply 
to the bitter speech of Senator Bradley; nor were 
they mistaken, for as Bradley closed his speech 
and took his seat, the modern Moses sent from 
God to claim His people from enthrallment rose 
from his desk. 

^‘Mr. Speaker and Fellow Colleagues: 

‘^Tt was not my original intention to say upon 
this occasion what I am going to say now, but 
since the red flag has been tauntingly waved in 
my face by the political buffoon who has just now 
finished his vindictive speech, I reply to his chal- 


318 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


lenge, and say that Bellerophon is ready to meet 
the chimera, and the people’s champion awaits 
the approach of the self-styled Gulliver, who more 
appropriately should be titled ^An Egotistical 
Goliath,’ whose paramount ambition is to drive 
the Israelites of Texas to the fathomless depths 
of her emerald gulf; or rather would I classify 
him as an intriguish politician who bears the 
same relation to the Democracy of Texas as Bene- 
dict Arnold bore the colonial cause during the 
last days of his American soldiery. 

^Tn a conference between counsel for the State 
and the Brooks-Priest Oil Company, Henry Priest 
said to me: ^St, Clair, you are now my only 
stumbling block in Texas.’ He came from Austin 
fresh from his triumphal re-entry into Texas. 

^^You, Senator, had pointed the way to evade 
the banishment of the courts !” exclaimed St. 
Clair as he pointed his finger at Senator Bradley. 
‘^The Attorney General had pronounced the forms 
of dissolution and reorganization to be legal. The 
Secretary of State had granted a new permit to 
do business. His proposition of settlement of 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


319 


his Waco litigation^ made thirty days before in 
Waco in your presence^ had been sanctioned by 
you, approved by my associate counsel represent- 
ing the State, but rejected by myself as county 
attorney. 

^^Though I stood alone in those negotiations, 
I am far more proud of the compliment uninten- 
tionally paid by Priest than that offered by you, 
when a few years ago at a convention in the city 
of Port Worth you put your arm about me and 
said that I should be in Congress. 

^Tn those other days, because of your bril- 
liancy, you caught my admiration; because of 
your eloquence I hung upon your words ; because 
of your attainments, I rejoiced in your career. 
But as time has gone by, because of your service 
to an outlawed trust; because of your entangle- 
ments with predatory corporations while pretend- 
ing to serve the people ; because of your departure 
from the ancient ideals that made a Southern 
Senator his people’s pride; because you have for- 
gotten that a good name be chosen rather than 
great riches; because of your broken allegiance 


320 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


to your people and your defense of monopolies, 
I brand you as a moral Cerberus guarding the 
portals of hell; consequently, I have become con- 
vinced that you should no longer hold a seat in 
the United States Senate. As the loyal repre- 
sentative of a noble people, I also draw my sword 
and cast its scabbard to the winds, and in the 
blasts of the trumpet our brawny patriots will 
hear this antique declaration of war. 


“ ‘To your tents, O Israel ! ’ ” 

While St. Clair was speaking, flowers from the 
gallery were being carried by the pages to his 
desk, and at the conclusion of his remarks when 
he took his seat amid the applause of his people, 
he was surrounded by a wilderness of flowers. 
Among them he saw a bunch of white water lilies, 
to which was fastened a small card bearing upon 
its face the familiar handwriting of Lucile; as 
he leaned forward, he read: ^^To the noblest 
Eoman of them all.’^ 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


321 


“One is a captain and one is a king, and the leaders 
are wise and great, 

But give us who serve in the ranks, 0 God, the spirit 
to meet our fate! 

And, better to serve in the ranks, say we, than never 
to serve at all,- 

For the ranks are the source of a nation’s strength, 
its tower and its granite wall!” 


CHAPTEE XVI. 


“While glorious murders 
Destroy mankind, to form a tyranny, 

We’ll destroy tyranny, to form mankind.” 

A FEW days prior to the senatorial election 
in the Legislature, Travis county ordered 
a special primary election to determine the wishes 
of the people of that county as to whether they 
endorsed Senator Bradley’s re-election to the 
United States Senate. During the short cam- 
paign in that county, Bradley rallied his forces 
of gasconaders around him and instructed them 
to use every means and exert every energy to 
carry the county. He drew his henchmen into 
secret caucus and outlined to them his plans of 
battle, and allotted to them their respective tasks. 

Behind closed doors in his suite of rooms at 
the hotel he had a private conference with Ken- 
nel, his armor-bearer and instrument of dirty 
work. 

“Here, Kennel, is five thousand dollars to be 
used in this campaign. Take it and like seed 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


323 


sow it for the harvest to be reaped on next week’s 
election day.” 

^^My dear Senator, I assure you this amount 
will be used to your best advantage, that it will 
be sown upon fertile ground and yield an abun- 
dant harvest. I shall make a deal with every 
saloon man in Austin to serve free drinks to 
every voter who advocates the Bradley cause, and 
over each bar will be a sign to that effect. I shall 
get every prostitute in the red-light district to 
work in your behalf with their favorites, for every 
vote counts, and we must not leave a stone un- 
turned. On the day of election I shall have car- 
riages at the Confederate Home in which to bring 
the old soldiers to the polls, and with a little 
whisky and 'pocket money we can command every 
one of their votes.” 

“Kennel, your plans are well laid. Go into 
the fray, and loosed of every scruple, work like 
hell !” exclaimed Bradley as he laid his hand upon 
the shoulder of his manager. 

“Remember, Senator, I am at your command 
throughout this campaign — I am your ^hound in 


334 


THE isTOBLEST EOMAN 


the slips/ so advise me when you will/’ laughed 
Kennel as he opened the door and passed out. 

Such was Bradley’s formulated campaign, the 
intrigue of which penetrated not only the sacred 
domicile of the old patriots of the South, but 
with a fullness of venom cried out for him in 
licentious haunts of shame, and across the aro- 
matic bars of moral degradation. But the old 
warriors of the South who stood like gods and 
fought like demons for principles they not only 
believed to be right, but for principles they knew 
were right, scorned the advance of one who for 
their votes and glory of self, would cast the 
shadow of calumny and shame over the temple of 
brave, yet vanquished gods. 

But in spite of the evil and shame that stig- 
matized his strategic campaign, he lost heavily 
in the county, throughout which every agency of 
vice and corruption was resorted to, to secure and 
hold Bradley votes, and in which money was 
spent without stint, and ^Vhere wine, women and 
song were integral parts” of the powerful and 
shameful machine which operated in Bradley’s 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


325 


contest for supremacy. In accordance with the 
vote cast in the special primary, Travis county 
instructed her two representatives to vote against 
Senator Bradley in the forthcoming election of 
United States Senator in the Legislature. One 
of the two, who gave to his State a thorough sys- 
tem of voting, loyally obeyed the voice of his 
people by declaring himself against Bradley — the 
pillager of mankind. The other, a true and tried 
warrior of Democracy, believing that a chosen rep- 
resentative owes fealty to the sovereign will, stood 
like an oak in the storm and bravely proclaimed 
the people^s decree. But there were others in the 
House and Senate who, as corporate attorneys and 
defenders of monopolites, disregarded the wishes 
of a true constituency and in the shame of their 
apostasy turned a deaf ear to the pleadings of 
their people, and listened only to the mandates 
of a corporate master under whose imperial lash 
and before whose majestic throne they bent their 
nimble knees in deference. 

Senator Bradley^s investigation before the Leg- 
islature at last terminated, and by a majority of 


326 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


the investigating committee was declared ‘^Not 
Guilty/^ Next in order came his exoneration 
by the Legislature. When the votes were counted 
there were forty against him, which represented 
the voice of a righteous minority composed of 
forty patriots who had bravely spoken for ^^God 
and Home and Native Land/^ but by the un- 
scrupulous majority, the tyrant of tyrants was 
exonerated and carried in triumph to the 
Speakers platform upon which Judge Graham 
was occupying a seat of honor, and who as the 
Senator approached, arose and stood by the 
Speaker to welcome and embrace his congenial 
friend and co-conspirator with whom he had 
stood shoulder to shoulder in the spoliation of 
his country. 

After a few personal and congratulatory words, 
the Speaker presented Bradley to the Senators 
and Representatives, who were now in joint ses- 
sion. The gallery was again packed with people, 
but when Bradley rose to speak, a weak applause 
from amid the thousands in the gallery was 
drowned by the shouts of the infernal majority 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


327 


on the lower floor composed of solons who were 
now doing honor to the betrayer of the common 
people and their own interests. They were all 
but ready to prostrate themselves before him — 
the god of loot — that peculiar species of the fam- 
ily of parasites, who receives his social and politi- 
cal vitality from the breast of that poisonous 
octopus known as Monopoly. 

^T want to record a prediction here tonight/’ 
said Senator Bradley as he began his speech. 
^^Out of the forty men that voted against my 
exoneration in this Legislature, not four will be 
back in the next Legislature. If you think we 
are not to have a fight next year you are mistaken. 
They intend to control, if control they can, the 
delegates to the national convention. I invite the 
contest, and if I live I will devote my best ener- 
gies to seeing that not one of their kind goes 
as a delegate to the national convention from 
the State of Texas. If I live, not one of their 
kind will ever again disgrace the State of Texas 
by holding an office under its authority. They 
have made their own graves. We are going to 


328 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


lay them gently away in those newly made graves. 
We are going to bnry them face down, so the 
harder they scratch to get out, the deeper they 
will go toward their eternal resting place. There 
is no- place hereafter in the politics of Texas for 
the fence rider. The man who tries to fight be- 
tween the lines is certain to be killed. 

^Tn my home I intend to put the photograph 
of this Legislature. Two pictures will embrace 
the photograph. Over one I am going to write: 
The Roll of Honor/ and over the other I am 
going to write: The Rogue’s Gallery/ and I am 
going to swear my children never to forget the 
one or forgive the other. Mark my words, not 
one of the men who organized and who sought to 
accomplish this conspiracy will ever again wear 
the honors of Texas Democracy. 

^They say this is a bitter speech. I intend 
for it to be bitter. If I might borrow sentiment 
from the great infidel, Robert G. Ingersol, I would 
say that sometimes I wish that I might possess 
words of pure hate, words that would writhe and 
hiss like snakes, for only then could I express my 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


329 


opinion of the men who organized and who con- 
ducted this conspiracy against me/^ 

For some time Bradley continued to bombard 
the lines of his enemies with strong and hot im- 
precations, and as he finished his speech and took 
his seat the same applause as before ^eeted his 
ears, but in the gallety the people were silent, and 
sorrow like a gloom had left its shadow upon 
their features. They beheld their beautiful 
State — the State they loved, sunk in a mire of 
shame by the hand of a modern Robespierre and 
his despicable followers, who in the hunger and 
madness for individual gain and pelf had become 
fat on civic spoils. 

During Senator Bradley^s speech, the members 
of the House and Senate who were against despot- 
ism rallied around St. Claims desk, and as Brad- 
ley took his seat at the close of his remarks, they 
lifted Sfc. Clair to their shoulders and amid the 
shouts in the gallery carried him to the Speaker’s 
stand. ‘^Speech ! Speech ! Hear St. Clair, the 
people’s brave defender! Speech! Speech! 


330 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


Hear tlie loyal St. Clair !” cried a thousand voices 
in unison. 

The Speaker rapped angrily for order, but the 
sound of his gavel was not heard. As St. Clair 
was led to the front of the platform the applause 
was renewed, and mingled with the shouts of the 
people were exclamations of loyalty which told 
the story of a cause for which their hearts were 
beating — a cause as deep as hell and as high as 
Heaven. 

^‘Behold the Chief of our Clan !” rang out 
again with force and strength as St. Clair stood 
like a god before his people. 

^^Gentlemen of the House and Senate,” he be- 
gan, then turning his eyes toward the gallery, 
exclaimed, ‘^‘Brave and fearless patriots of Texas : 
There is no higher honor this side of the portals 
of Heaven than that which crowns the chief of 
such a clan. There is no greater curse this side 
of hell than that which overshadows the betrayer 
of their cause, and T believe the time will soon 
come when the man who turns a public office to 
a private advantage will be whipped from society 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


331 


along with the embezzler of money. A man is 
lacking in either intelligence or honesty, or both, 
who defends the acceptance by public servants of 
employment from those whose interests are ad- 
verse to the interests of the public.’ ^No man 
can serve two masters ; for either he will hate the 
one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the 
one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God 
and Mammon.’ 

believe there is one sentiment common to 
every patriot here, and that is a feeling of humil- 
iation at the conduct of the Legislature this after- 
noon, and of protest against the still greater hu- 
miliation of this body a few minutes ago, when a 
chosen apostate turned his batteries against a de- 
fenseless people. Never in the history of any 
free country has any legislative assembly supinely 
submitted to so great an outrage. I appeal to 
you to contemplate our condition of servitude. 
The House was in actual session; it had exoner- 
ated a Senator under circumstances that were 
appalling and without a protest from the minority 


332 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


he was invited to address the members of the 
House and Senate. 

^^Setting at nanght every principle of decency 
and decorum, he took advantage of the occasion 
to pour upon some of those whose guest he was, 
a stream of as bitter words as ever fell from the 
lips of man. Having exhausted the power of a 
language fertile in invective, he longed for Vords 
of pure hate’ with which to brand a part of his 
audience. But I knew protest would have been 
vain. 

majority of the members had agreed to 
again answer the lash of this modern Caesar, and 
strain every servile muscle to bear onward his 
triumphant chariot. I know it is incredible; yet 
why should we marvel? Does not history repeat 
itself? Who has not read the story of Eome’s 
humiliation when Tullia commanded the slave 
to drive the chariot over the prostrate form of her 
murdered sire, that she might witness the crown- 
ing of her usurping lord? And why should not 
we, great patriots that we are, ride booted and 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


333 


spurred over the prostrate form of a debauched 
and outraged State? 

''Yes, we knew that protest would have been 
vain; and yet we do protest; for now we sound 
'a protest that is also prophecy/ We can touch 
once mure the key that will sound a charge in 
the heart of every true man, and when the mighty 
chorus comes back from the people, it will be 
one in which 'whirlwinds of rebellion shake the 
world/ A little more than five weeks ago, when 
a committee had been appointed to investigate 
him, his followers forced the Legislature to vote 
before he could be investigated, because he said 
the balloting must be had on the very day. When 
the investigation was closed he said he must be 
exonerated before the evidence could be read by 
the House, because delay would be embarrassing 
to him. I admire his splendid audacity. It has 
been to him what courage was to Ney and genius 
to Napoleon. But what are we? Mere puppets 
in a great political drama. That we dishonor our- 
selves and disgrace our State is nothing; it is 
everything that we exonerate a Senator 'whose 


334 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


honor rooted in dishonor stands/ There was a 
time when the men who wrote law for Texas felt 
a chivalry — ^that high and delicate sense of honor 
that deems a stain upon one’s country an individ- 
ual disgrace — a time when they had so lately paid 
the price of freedom they would have scorned the 
dictation of any power under Heaven. But we, 
the puny progeny of men who consecrated San 
Jacinto and the Alamo, shall we tremble under 
the lash of a Gigantic Oil Senator? 

^Tnspired by his henchmen at the Capitol, men 
who knew not the evil they did, borne along on 
the hot wings of malice, sent runners throughout 
my home county to get names to a petition asking 
me to resign, and in a county of nearly five thou- 
sand white voters, I am informed they obtained a 
little more than six hundred names. Some of 
them are bad men, but most of them are good 
men who do not yet know the truth. In the face 
of their censure I salute them with profound 
respect, because as long as I can trust the heart 
of a good man I am willing to suffer and be 
patient with his reason. With the light of a 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


335 


little time turned steadily on the facts, I do not 
fear the result, though his minions from abroad 
may dart into every household to deceive and to 
debauch. If I desired to coin words of pure hate, 
I could remember ^The Charge of the Light Bri* 
gade,’ and reversing the simile, liken the Russian 
batteries on the surrounding hills to the two hun- 
dred newspapers in Texas that are against him 
and the six hundred who signed the petition, to 
the soldiers charging under an order that was 
misunderstood. I would liken this free and un- 
subsidized press — these that constitute the terrible 
artillery of the people, to that solid flame of shot 
and shell, and say: 

“ ‘Cannon to right of them, 

Cannon to left of them, 

Cannon in front of them. 

Into the jaws of Death, 

Into the mouth of Hell, 

Rode the six hundred!’ 

“But, my friends, I have not been trained in 
the school of the Senator. I treasure no resent- 
ment. Vengeance is not mine — in the hour of 


336 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


victory I will not repay. I believe that whatever 
is good in religion is good in politics, because my 
politics is woven with the morals that make a 
faith. When they threaten to drive me from the 
public service, I tell them their threats are vain. 
They cannot touch the sphere I live in. They 
may strike terror to those who, like themselves, 
have never felt that patriotic tide that flowed 
through Wallace's undaunted heart. But politics 
is not my trade. I neither care for office nor 
chase the vanities of place and power. I am one 
of those who believe that man best serves himself 
who serves his country and forgets himself. That 
is the sphere in which I live — a sphere in which 
their cloven feet have never trod. 

^‘Humble as I am, and great as he is, he is still 
but an incident of my opposition. I stand, not 
against him, but against the things he does. He 
is but a concrete opposition to my ideal — an ideal 
that declares a man^s public life should be as clean 
as his private life. I believe that a man should- 
be afraid to do wrong, though backed by legions, 
but being right, he should fear nothing on earth 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


337 


but God. It grieves me much — it ought to grieve 
every patriot — that some of the young men, they 
in whose bosoms lie the potential power of the 
future, should link their destinies with the destiny 
of this man. Others may appease their con- 
sciences with such fictions as the exigencies of 
the hour demand, but as for me, I would rather 
go down floating the fiag of defiance than to 
receive the purple from his polluted hands.’’ 

At the close of St. Clair’s speech the House 
adjourned until the following morning at nine 
o’clock. The lower floor was soon crowded to its 
uttermost capacity with the people from the gal- 
lery, who thronged around St. Clair, eager to 
grasp the hand of their chief, and offer them- 
selves to the holy cause of liberty — a cause of 
mercy and justice, through which the shackles of 
plutocracy were to be riven from the loins of the 
people, for 

“Easier were it 

To hurl the rooted mountain from its base, 

Than to force the yoke of slavery upon men 
Determin’d to be free.” 


338 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


As St. Clair was receiving the greetings from 
his people, his eyes were scanning the tumnltnous 
crowd in search of the girl whose life had inspired 
him in the great service of his country. At last 
he saw her — she was making her way toward him. 
For a moment their eyes met, hut instead of a 
smile of love and affection, she greeted him with 
a look of anger and defiance. 

^^My God, something is wrong,” thought St. 
Clair as he found himself pushing toward her. 
The throng around him seemed but a whirling 
mass of humanity. He felt as though his heart 
had ceased to perform its natural functions, and 
had become a deep reservoir into which was 
emptying an icy stream. As they neared each 
other St. Clair extended his hand with an expres- 
sion of love upon his face that the true heart can- 
not conceal, but instead of grasping the out- 
stretched hand, she pressed a note between his 
fingers, and without a word turned away and was 
soon lost in the crowd. 

“How small, of all that human hearts endure, 

That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.” 


CHAPTER XVII. 


“That, sir, which serves and seeks for gain 
And follows but for form. 

Will pack, when it begins to rain. 

And leave thee in a storm.” 

yV S St. Clair entered the elevator^ which was 
to carry him to the first fioor of the Capi- 
tol, he nervously and anxiously unfolded the note 
Lucile had slipped into his hand during the great 
ovation tendered him by the people at the con- 
clusion of his speech an hour ago. 

'‘George St. Clair: In your madness for ven- 
geance against Senator Bradley and my Father, 
you have struck me a mortal blow hy exhibiting 
to the public the crimes of my Father. By such 
impetuosity you have lacerated my heart — you 
have forgotten the object of your love. By the 
same awful force of action you have driven me 
to the obscurity of shame. When I placed into 
your hands the evidence of my Fathers guilt, you 
gave me your word of honor that you would not 
make public use of it, but hold it secretly as a 


340 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


prevailing agency through which to effect his 
resignation. 

You have broken faith with me, and by tramp- 
ing your honor in the slough you have also broken 
the other tie that bound us. 

LucUe/’ 

^•'My God! My God! What does the girl 
mean?^^ exclaimed St. Clair to himself as he re- 
folded the note and walked ont of the elevator. 

As he passed beneath the great dome of the 
Capitol he met an old college chnm, who threw 
his arm around him and exclaimed: “Old fel- 
low, your speech this afternoon has immortalized 
you and engraved your name upon the hearts of 
all true Texans Y 

“Thank you, Jack, for such extravagant flat- 
tery, for there is no higher honor than that of 
gaining the love and confidence of the masses,” 
replied St. Clair warmly. 

“Allow me in all sincerity to make this proph- 
ecy: It will not be very far in the future when 
the same people who applauded your speech today 
will greet your ofiicial message with the same 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


341 


spirit — you are destined to be the Governor of 
this great State/^ 

^^Ah, Jack, my ambition does not carry me 
toward that goal. I would rather be as I am, 
the chief of the labor scarred knights of toil, and 
give my life in lifting from them the burden of 
plutocratic oppression, than to receive the execu- 
tive diadem.” 

^^Yes, I know how boundless your love is for 
the people^s cause, but as I have already expressed 
myself prophetically I ask that you remember my 
prophecy,” replied Jack as they separated. 

St. Clair went direct to the hotel, and in his 
room wrote the following note to the girl who by 
her words had stung the deepest recesses of his 
heart : 

''Dear Lucile: I have read the paper you 
placed in my hands, and cannot understand why 
you should doubt my honor. I am innocent of 
the charges with which you have accused me. 
Trust me now, and believe me innocent until by 
more than mere presumption I am proven guilty. 
Until then let the ties that bind us be as strong 


342 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


and closely knit as love's pure fabric. I shall call 
this evening. 

George." 

Two hours later, as St. ClaiEs carriage drove 
up to the Grraham gate which opened upon the 
long concrete walk that led to the house, he felt 
that God had given him greater strength of body 
and soul with which to meet the grave issues of 
the hour, and from the very depths of his soul 
he seemed to hear these inspiring words : ^^God 
shieldeth the patriot as well as armeth him."' 

In a few moments he stood upon the broad gal- 
lery, and before the stately doors of the old South- 
ern mansion. Lucile answered the doorbell her- 
self, but the smile and glad welcome with which 
she had always met St. Clair had now given way 
to the coolness and marked formality with which 
she greeted him tonight. 

^^George, something has happened that has 
robbed me of my faith in you, leaving in my heart 
a bitter condemnation for the man who would 
openly and publicly bring reproach upon my 
Father, whose face is already turned to life’s west- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


343 


ern horizon/^ said Lucile as she occupied the chair 
nearest St. Clair. 

^Ts it possible that my life shall never cease 
to be a target for the barbed arrows of continual 
persecution; that your confidence in my honor is 
so loosely rooted that the least angry gust of the 
enemy extracts it; that I am to be condemned 
without a hearing, and have pain added to pain 
by hearing a cruel and unjust sentence from lips 
I love?^^ replied St. Clair gravely. 

^‘No ! You are wrong ! Your enemies have 
given up all hope of tearing us apart — they are 
now relying upon m}^ own judgment, suspecting 
that I shall sooner or later realize the folly of 
my course. You say that you are innocent of 
the charge with which I have accused you; then 
why is it that your most ardent supporter in the 
House, Col. Black, has in his possession the iden- 
tical papers I intrusted to your care — the papers 
which prove the guilt of my Father?” 

‘^Lucile, you are mistaken; the papers you 
placed with me are safely locked within my trunk. 
I assured myself of this after reading your note 


344 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


late this afternoon. Then again. Col. Black has 
never mentioned the subject to me. Where did 
you get all this information?^^ 

Senator Bradley heard this morning that 
Col. Black will make charges against my Father 
before the House tomorrow, and that he is going 
to substantiate his charges by exhibiting the 
papers spoken of.’^ 

“^This is a deep mystery ; a most perplexing 
problem. I know nothing of Col. Black’s con- 
nection with this affair. But I do know that I 
have been loyal to the trust you imposed upon 
me. I do not deserve this cold attitude you show 
toward me, but I do merit your confidence, your 
trust and your love — ^the grand trinity of true 
friendship,” pleaded St. Clair. 

'^Will you then prove the sincerity of what you 
have just said, by going over in your carriage to 
the hotel and bringing back to me the letters and 
other papers I gave you, and which you claim to 
still have in your possession?” 

^^Yes, if you require this evidence by which to 
re-establish your faith in me, you shall have it,” 


THE iSrOBLEST ROMAN 


345 


replied St. Clair as he started toward the door. 
As Lncile watched the carriage drive away, she 
heard footsteps in the hall, and turning quickly 
saw before her Senator Bradley, Henry Priest and 
her Father. 

^^What did that sneak want?’^ asked Judge 
Graham angrily as he addressed Lucile. 

“To whom do you refer?” 

“1 refer to St. Clair, that cowardly villain who 
stands behind Col. Black in the charges to be 
made against me tomorrow in the House.” 

“Mr. St. Clair says that he knows nothing what- 
ever of Col. BlaclCs action.” 

“Lucile, you have more confidence in that fel- 
low's word than we have, for we would not even 
consider his oath,” said Senator Bradley. 

“No, I suppose not,” answered Lucile disdain- 
fully as she tossed her head haughtily to one side. 

“No, Senator, I believe you are mistaken. I 
feel sure that Miss Graham by this time realizes 
that he not only is a stranger to truth, but an 
enemy of integrity,” said Priest as he turned and 
addressed Bradley. 


346 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


^'Mr. Priest, I beg your pardon, sir, but you 
are the one who is mistaken. No, I believe 
that he is the very embodiment of truth and in- 
tegrity. I admit that circumstances for a while 
this afternoon placed him in a very unfavorable 
light before me, but since I have heard from his 
lips the true status of affairs, I see things differ- 
ently and — 

^^Yes, I suppose you do,’’ interrupted Judge 
Graham. ‘^^His oily tongue has veneered his 
treachery so ingeniously that it appears before 
your credulous eyes as one of the cardinal virtues 
of a god.” 

am ashamed of myself for allowing a single 
doubt to gain ascendency in my heart. Mr. St. 
Clair claims to have in his trunk the papers de- 
clared by you to be in the possession of Col. 
Black. In order to prove his statement, he has 
gone for them and will return in a short while.” 

As Lucile finished speaking, she realized her 
mistake in telling them that St. Clair would 
return with the papers, for she noticed the vil- 
lainous smile that played across the Senator’s 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


347 


face, and saw the same fire in his eyes that shines 
in those of the leopard when preparing to spring 
upon an unsuspecting victim. 

^^We shall wait here until his return and hear 
what he has to say for himself,” said Judge Gra- 
ham as he offered chairs to his two guests. 

Lucile excused herself and left the reception 
room in which the men were sitting, and slipped 
silently out upon the gallery to watch for the 
return of the carriage, resolving in her mind to 
meet St. Clair at the gate and warn him of his 
danger. In a short while she heard the clatter of 
horses^ hoofs, and looking up saw the light of the 
carriage as it rapidly drew near. Before another 
minute passed she was moving hurriedly across 
the lawn. 

^^Lucile, here are the papers you gave me; I 
have examined the bundle and find none missing. 
I hope you will now accept them as proof of my 
loyalty to a promise, and the guarding of them 
as significant of my true and boundless love for 
you,” said St. Clair as he met Lucile at the gate. 

^^Forgive me again for my distrust in you, 


348 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


George. By this proof of your magnanimity I 
feel that I am unworthy the love of such a man.^^ 

^^My dear little girl, I did not censure you; 
I did not blame you; you have done nothing 
wrong, therefore there is nothing for me to for- 
give. The status of affairs as you saw it nat- 
urally accused me, and in your eagerness to shield 
your father against the angry blasts of the peo- 
ple's wrath, circumstantial evidence had the ap- 
pearance of positive proof.” 

"^^George, Senator Bradley, Mr. Priest and my 
Father are awaiting your return. They are bitter 
against you, and are going to question you as to 
the papers in the custody of Col. Black. The 
Senator is very angry, and I am afraid he will 
do you bodily harm, so favor me by not coming 
to the house, but return at once.” 

'^Lucile, I must see your father tonight or it 
will be too late to save him,” replied St. Clair 
as he offered his arm to Lucile and started toward 
the house. 

^^Then ma}^ God protect you and crown with 
success every effort put forward to save my Father 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


349 


from the awful exposure of his crimes/^ whispered 
Lucile as they ascended the steps of the gallery. 

“St. Clair, what scheme is this through which 
you are now trying to bring disgrace and shame 
upon my life and home?” exclaimed Judge Ora- 
ham as St. Clair and Lucile entered the reception 
room. 

“You accuse me unjustly. Judge. I know 
nothing of the charges to be brought against you 
in the House tomorrow. All I know is what 
Lucile has told me this evening.” 

“Weil, I didn’t expect the truth from you when 
I asked the question.” 

“What do you mean, sir, by such arrogance?” 
asked St. Clair in a resentful manner. 

“I mean that you are the dark undercurrent 
that has influenced Col. Black to file those charges 
against me, and to ask for an investigation of 
them before the House.” 

“Sir, you may consider me in any light you 
wish — I would not raise my finger for your es- 
teem. As far as you are concerned I would not 
hesitate to bring charges against you, and offer 


350 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


the evidence I have by which to substantiate 
them^ but this would bring sorrow and disgrace 
upon your daughter — the girl I love^ and for her 
sake I offered you an avenue of escape if you 
would but resign your oflSce and retire to private 
life and — 

“And you call such a pusillanimous act as that 
^an avenue of escape’? It would be more appro- 
priate to designate such an act as % stenchy alley 
through which a coward skulks to safety/ ” inter- 
rupted Judge Graham vehemently. 

“Col. Black is a friend of mine, and with a 
copy of your resignation presented to him by me, 
I feel sure I can prevail upon him to withhold 
his charges.” 

“My God, St. Clair! Would you force this 
man from the bench upon which he has given the 
best years of his life?” exclaimed Priest, unable 
to restrain himself longer. 

“Yes; when a man makes merchandise of an 
office of trust he should he proscribed; he should 
receive the cold shoulder of every true, honest 
and loyal patriot. Judge Graham has served you 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


351 


and your interests as subserviently as a vassal 
and as effectually as a pirate on the seas of con- 
quest; therefore, he deserves his part of the 
spoils — your reward, and you would be an ingrate 
not to at least pension him when the State he has 
betrayed turns him from her shelter,” replied St. 
Clair with a smile. 

“If I were Judge Graham I would pay no 
attention to the charges in question. Let Black 
furnish the evidence; let the House investigate 
them, and give the Senate full rope to try the 
case. In my opinion, the Senate will find him 
not guilty, and after his exoneration the people 
will love and trust him more than ever,” said 
Senator Bradley dogmatically. 

“Senator, in giving that advice to Judge Gra- 
ham you urge him onward to his ruin — a disgrace- 
ful political annihilation — an ignominious social 
oblivion,” replied St. Clair emphatically. 

“The same hand of moral cut-throats that flour- 
ished their swords in my face and yelled for my 
resignation, are now following the trail of Judge 
Graham, hungry for his scalp and anxious to 


352 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


cast him in the fiery furnace of their wrath; hut 
like the Hebrew knights of antique fame, true 
and loyal to their God, he will pass from the 
flames of jealousy and hatred without the scent 
of fire or smoke upon his ermine,’^ answered 
Bradley. 

^^While he may, like yourself, escape the fatajity 
of the flame and the stench of fire and smoke, yet 
again, like you, the scent of whitewash and coal 
oil may be so very strong that they will smell 
through the crust of exonerative enamel,” replied 
St. Clair in a sarcastic tone. 

^^Senator, you were right in what you said a 
moment ago; I shall pay no attention to them. 
Now, you wretch, go to your hireling, Col. Black, 
and tell him to open fire — he will find an impreg- 
nable foe to laugh his folly to scorn !” cried Judge 
Graham angrily as he rose from his chair. 

‘^^No, I will not carry your message to Col. 
Black. I shall not see him tomorrow as I shall 
be absent from the House. For the sake of 
Lucile I have tried to spare you the blow, which 
when struck, will crush you forever.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


353 


“But like a mighty truth crushed to earth, I 
will rise again to slay the devil that struck me, 
and his own blood shall be the price of my ruined 
life/’ 

“Father! Father! Can you not see before you 
the great cataract toward which you are drifting ? 
Do you not hear the deathly roar of the awful 
rapids which, unless you change your course to- 
night, will hurl you to your death? Why do 
you by stubborn persistence and bold defiance 
invite calamity upon your life — ^your name — 
your honor? For the sake of all these; for the 
sake of the House of Graham and your own 
daughter, write out your resignation tonight I” 
cried Lucile passionately. 

“No; not for your sake would I make a sacri- 
fice like that, for it was your hand that pushed 
me into the abyss of hell — into the ranks of my 
enemies. It is you, not I, who is bringing re- 
proach upon this house, and the furrows of shame 
upon my brow. You began this evil when you 
gave my private letters to that scoundrel,” replied 
the Judge as he pointed his finger at St. Clair. 


354 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


^^Father, when I gave St. Clair the letters that 
told the story of yonr several crimes against yonr 
country^ it was for no other purpose than to use 
them in forcing your resignation^ for I sadly 
knew that you had so prostituted your office as 
to make of it an underground commercial tunnel 
through which contriving monopolites operated 
against the weal of the people, and I fully be- 
lieved that you would continue to make your office 
an agency of traffic. It was because of my love 
for you as well as for my country that I took this 
initiative step to bring about your resignation.^’ 
child’s love for a father is not very highly 
developed when she places his private correspond- 
ence in the hands of an enemy with which to 
prove bribery charges against him,” answered 
Judge Graham. 

Judge, as I have said before, I know nothing 
of the charges to be brought by Col. Black, and 
if he has any letters of yours by which to verify 
them, he has obtained them without my knowl- 
edge, and from a source I know nothing of,” said 
St. Clair. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


355 


“You are l3dng about your connection with this 
affair — you are at the bottom of this conspiracy 
to ruin me, simply because I denied you my 
daughter's hand,^^ replied Graham harshly. 

“Judge, I have explained this to my perfect 
satisfaction, if not to yours. I shall listen no 
longer to your bitter insults,” said St. Clair as 
he left the room with Lucile and passed out upon 
the broad portico. 

“George, is there nothing that can be done to 
check Col. BlacFs move tomorrow and save my 
Father?” 

“My darling, there is nothing under Heaven 
that can now save him, except his resignation, 
for with a copy of that in my hands I might be 
able to prevail upon Col. Black to withhold the 
charges, but as your father refuses to do this, he 
must suffer the consequences.” 

“Oh, how awful it is sometimes to meet the 
inevitable! Oh, how bitter is this draught of 
sorrow!” cried Lucile as she dropped her head 
upon St. Claires shoulder and sobbed with a 
broken heart. 


356 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


^^Lucile, you must be brave and force yourself 
to endure the awful trial ahead of you/^ said St. 
Clair as he lifted her head gently from his 
shoulder and kissed her trembling lips. 

^‘Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak 
Whispers the o^erfraught heart, and bids it break.” 


CHAPTEE XVIII. 


\ ETEE Lucile and St. Clair left the room in 
which the three men were sitting, Judge 
Grahara, with a troubled look upon his face, 
turned to the Senator and said: ^^Bradley, this 
is to be a stubborn fight, and I shall depend upon 
you to help pull me through.” 

For a moment Bradley gazed seriously toward 
the floor, then pushing his fingers through the 
long brown hair that fell upon his majestic fore- 
head, replied: ^^My dear Graham, nothing would 
give me more happiness than to remain here and 
give you succor at this time, but as I have for 
the past several weeks been away from my desk 
in the Senate, I must leave on tonighPs train for 
Washington — ” 

‘^What! You don^t mean that!” interrupted 
Judge Graham as a pallor overspread his face. 
'^Is it true that you — ^you who for years I thought 
my friend — you to whom I gave the flower of my 
manhood, are to leave me helpless before the un- 


358 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


merciful pack of dogs who are eager to tear my 
flesh and lap my blood/^ 

^Tf I could stay here another week, I would 
do so, but my presence in Washington at this 
time is a necessity. Bills are now pending in the 
Senate that must be defeated at all hazards. The 
Gigantic Oil concerns are making a bold fight; 
the foundations of the Sugar Trust are trem- 
bling; the Beef Monopoly, great as it is, is being 
knifed ; my friend Senator Lorimer is about to 
lose his seat in the Senate, and as the trusts have 
contributed to a fund of over one hundred thou- 
sand dollars to purchase a majority of the votes 
in the Illinois Legislature, I must rush to the 
rescue, for I have been offered a colossal fee to 
defend him upon the floor of the Senate, as I am 
the only Senator on the Democratic side that can 
wield effectual influence over my party col- 
leagues.” 

“So spake the fiend, and with necessity, 

The tyrant’s plea, excused his devilish deeds.” 


^^Yes, Judge, Bradley must go at once to Wash- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


359 


ington, as our interests demand his presence/’ 
said Priest with the authority of a master. 

“Yes, but my interests — my life — ^my honor — 
my all, cries for help across the billows of en- 
mity — over reefs of political destruction. I am 
refused as much as a hand to throw me a life 
line.” 

“No, Judge, you are wrong!” exclaimed Priest. 
“While 1 cannot openly defend you, I will give 
you the same assistance I gave Senator Bradley 
during his fight. I will give you money with 
which to fight those charges.” 

“My God, Priest ! What can I do with money ? 
To use it in clearing my name of crimes would 
only deepen the sea and add weight to the mill- 
stone.” 

“Judge, I will arrange for the distribution of 
the money,” answered Priest. “Senator Bradley 
and I have an engagement with Kennell at eleven 
o’clock tonight in my private car. I shall place 
suflScient funds in his hands with which to de- 
fend you against the charges of Col. Black. Ken- 


360 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


nell is a crooked devil, but for a work like this, it 
takes a fellow who knows the crooked ways.” 

^Triest, in doing this you place a strong artil- 
lery in the fortifications of my defense, but as I 
have served you faithfully I deserve it. In the 
past I placed my honor — a priceless stake, in the 
jack-pot of your commercial games. I became 
your political conjurer that you might reap the 
fruits of my tricks, therefore I merit every effort 
you may put forth to save me at this time — the 
awful crisis of my life.” 

As Judge Graham finished speaking he took 
his eyes off Priest, and concentrated them upon 
Bradley. ^^Senator, I stood by you for years like 
a brother. I bared my breast to the missiles of 
your enemies, and with a strong arm I fought 
in your defense. During your late investigation 
by the Legislature, I toiled night and day in my 
endeavor to save your name from reproach. I 
freed you from the net of the fowler, only to find 
myself ensnared. But you, engrossed in all your 
vain thoughts, find time only for your own vindi- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


361 


cation, and for godlike poses before the admiring 
eyes of women.” 

^^Judge, by the skin of my teeth I was cleared 
and exonerated of the criminal charges against 
me, and should I, in the face of the plain, im- 
pregnable evidence to be brought against you, 
become the champion of your cause and enter the 
arena in your defense, such an act would bring 
down infamy upon my head from those who be- 
lieved in my innocence and sincerely trusted me. 
No, Judge, I must not endanger myself by mix- 
ing up in this affair. Burnt fingers are afraid 
of fire, and (lod knows the awful flames through 
which they passed,” said Senator Bradley as he 
rose to his feet. 

tell you there is already infamy upon your 
brow; it has broken forth as a pest from the 
slime of your heart! Now and forever, the bond 
of friendship which for years held us together, 
is broken — the tie of love severed. Upon your 
head rests my curse. If I triumph over my 
enemies in this, their warfare of hell, I shall for- 
get that such a despicable character as you ever 


362 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


lived. But should I become their vanquished foe, 
not an easy breath shall I draw until I have en- 
compassed your ruin and caused you to drink the 
draught I drank— the dregs of bitter retaliation,” 
threatened Judge Graham. 

''What do I care for your friendship — it has 
been to me only an instrument in traffic. What 
do I care for your love— I have used it merely as 
a buoy to support my head above the crest of 
angry waves. What do I care for your curse— 
it is nothing more than the blast of a malignant 
tongue. You have acted a fooFs part in preserv- 
ing records of your many crimes, and especially 
in the loose way you guarded them.” 

"You wretch! You tyrant! You imposter! 
Within whose breast beats an adamant heart! I 
was once a man — a man without a price. I was 
once the father in a home — a home without a 
shadow. I was once a citizen — a citizen without 
shame. I was once an honored judge — a judge 
without guile. I was once a Christian — a Chris- 
tian without hypocrisy. But you — you the evil 
genius of my life ; for a while the charmer of my 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


363 


soul ; then the parasite of my heart ; then the 
preying leopard upon my path; at last the sting- 
ing viper within my bosom, have changed the 
noble attributes of my character — attributes 
which in the concrete became the glowing light 
of my life. But now at the termination of lifers 
pathway — at the verge of the grave — at the por- 
tals of eternity, there is nothing left but an 
ignominious mass — ^the ruins of a life which at 
one time was glorious and grand. I cannot settle 
with you now; but when we are face to face in 
the flames of hell; when a burning soul thirsts 
for vengeance, then will I meet you man to man — 
devil to devil. Then will I quench the flames 
with your blood and rise victorious over as 
damnable apostate as ever wielded the sceptre of 
a tyrant.^^ For a moment Bradley looked with 
contempt into the face of Judge Graham, then 
opened the door, and with Priest, passed silently 
out. 

“Lashed furious by destiny severe. 

The ship hangs hovering on the verge of death, 

Hell yawns, rocks rise, and breakers roar beneath!” 


CHAPTER XIX. 


“Where is he, the champion and the child 
Of all that’s great or little, wise or wild? 

Whose game was empires, and whose stakes were 
thrones, 

Whose table earth — ^whose dice were human bones?” 

^ I "'HE day after Senator Bradley arrived in 
^ Washington he was driven to the great 
Federal Capitol^ which was once the people^s 
sacred oracle — now the throne of corporate power. 
His thoughts were all centered upon the grand 
moment, which with each revolution of the car- 
riage wheels was drawing nearer — the moment 
when he would enter the portals of the Senate 
chamber amid the united and deafening applause 
of the entire body of Republican and Democratic 
Senators. He pictured himself as the great Xa- 
poleon returning from the fields of conquest to 
receive the embrace and homage of the Grand 
Assembly. Xo picture of Wellington rose in the 
background to blanch his cheeks; no Elbe to ter- 
rorize his heart; no roaring waves of St. Helena 
to destroy his thoughts of throne and crown. He 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


365 


saw before him the consummation of his ava- 
ricious desires and with gladness of heart beheld 
the opposing forces — the thwarted hopes and 
plans of his enemies — the common people — ^the 
brain and sinew of the nation. Oh^ how vain 
are the thoughts of the ambitious — how buoyant 
their hopes — how uncertain their goal; how like 
the unfolding petals of a flower bud with the 
blighting worm nestled at its heart, tainting the 
rudiments of the promised flower. 

As Senator Bradley stepped from the elevator 
that carried him to the floor of the Senate, he 
was met by his master. Senator Aldrich, his con- 
federate in political and commercial piracy — 
Senator Lorimer, the blond boss of Illinois. 
Iflacing himself between them, and upon their 
arms he entered the Senate chamber. To his 
great consternation the Democratic side observed 
him in silence, while a weak applause greeted 
him from the Bepublican ranks. Senator Cul- 
lenson, the other Senator from Texas, a brave 
and noble warrior of the civic battlefleld, bowed 
his head in humiliation upon his desk as Senator 


366 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN 


Bradley walked down the aisle between the noto- 
rions political cnt-throat and the arch-pirate of 
commerce. With sadness he saw his colleague 
of State and party become the nnclens around 
which gathered the leperous elements of Con- 
gress — the incarnation of taint and shame; he 
saw his beloved State in legislative balance, the 
interests of the people in one scale, while in the 
other he beheld the awful force of their oppres- 
sion, and gazed sadly upon the equilibrium. A 
move must be made — a blow must be struck; a 
moment must not be lost, for the honor of Texas 
was at stake — the State who, in the glorious his- 
tory of her past, stood supremely upon the battle- 
field and won the sacred heritage of liberty at an 
awful cost — the price of ‘^mountains of slain and 
rivers of blood.^’ 

^'Mr. President and Fellow Colleagues : I pre- 
sent to this body a message from the people of 
Texas,^^ said Senator Cullenson as he rose to the 
floor. ^^A petition from a majority of her voters 
asking that you hear their prayer for relief and 
acquiesce in their plea.’^ The petition had 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


367 


reached the Presidents desk and the reading 
clerk was now preparing to read its preamble, in 
which was alleged charges of bribery against Sen- 
ator Bradley, and their whitewash by the investi- 
gating committee. It also enumerated the 
charges and referred to the accompanying evi- 
dence by which to substantiate them, and then 
concluded by asking for the expulsion of Senator 
Bradley from his seat in the Senate. 

A loud applause greeted the reading of the 
preamble. As the charges were being read. Sen- 
ator Bradley^s face flushed with anger, and lurid 
fire seemed to leap from his eyes, but before the 
clerk had finished the lengthy preamble the scar- 
let glow of anger gave place to a fearful paleness 
as the once irritable Senator sat fixed and rigid 
like a god chiseled from marble. 

He now realized the awful strength of the oc- 
cult power which was sweeping destructively over 
him like that which rides unseen in the tornado’s 
chariot, propelling it onward upon a path of dev- 
astation. Senator Bradley watched his opportu- 
nity and when it came he sprang to his feet like 


368 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


a ferocious tiger, and with breathing thoughts 
and burning words reproached his enemies as 
^^cowardly curs^ — as dogs that had broken loose 
from their kennel chains and were hungry for 
princely flesh/^ 

For two days the Senate chamber was a seeth- 
ing hell — a sea of flame that roared and hissed. 
Two antagonistic elements met and were battling 
for supremacy. Bradley and the classes were 
clutching at the throats of Cullenson and the 
masses. A committee to investigate the charges 
was appointed and after a week of deliberation 
and a strenuous fight for principle, announced 
that their task was ended. The chairman had 
taken the floor to make his report — all was still 
and quiet save the loud beating of hearts that 
throbbed wildly within the bosoms of anxious 
Senators. 

All eyes were upon the lips of the chairman; 
all ears were strained to hear the verdict which 
was to either clothe a mortal life with robes of 
spotless white or with those of blackness and 
derision. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


369 


the investigating committee, find Senator 
Bradley guilty of the bribery charges preferred 
against him and recommend to this body that 
he be expelled from the Senate and his seat de- 
clared vacant,” were the concluding words of the 
chairman's report. A volcano vomiting forth its 
molten matter and sending its smoke and flames 
to the sky would have caused no greater sensa- 
tion than the verdict of the committee. Senator 
Aldrich made a strong appeal in behalf of Brad- 
ley, which was followed by speeches of like senti- 
ment from other noted Republican leaders of the 
Senate, while the Democratic side rose in rebut- 
tal, exerting every effort to drive a Catiline from 
their midst ; a malefactor ^%ho had acuteness 
suited to crime ; and whose tongue nor hand never 
failed to support that acuteness.” All day long 
the battle raged ; fierce imprecations filled the air, 
and the devil humiliated, blushed with shame 
when he found himself the leader of such a base 
minority. The session continued into the night, 
and at twelve o’clock the vote was taken which 


370 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


resulted in accepting the committee’s report to- 
gether with its recommendations. 

When the President of the Senate announced 
the decision^ a deathly pallor fell over Bradley’s 
face as he felt himself fall from the heights of 
potency to the depths of moral nihility. He saw 
himself abandoned by the best of his former col- 
leagues; he saw his sceptre depart from him like 
an arrow speeding from the bow of a Tartar. 
^^Upon the political stage every man must play 
his part ; I have played mine — a villainous part — 
a tragical part — a sad part/’ thought Bradley as 
he gazed meditatively into the faces of those who 
had encompassed his ruin, then burying his face 
in his hands muttered inaudibly, ^^My God! My 
God! How bitter this retribution! Oh, how it 
stings the heart and conscience like sin lacerates 
the soul. It is the law of nature that Vhatsoever 
a man soweth, that shall he also reap’; I have 
sown the seed from the granaries of hell, and to 
my sorrow and remorse must garner the harvest 
of thorns and nettles.” 

Rising slowly to his feet he moved down the 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


371 


aisle toward the door; then pausing, he turned 
and looked back upon the desk he had left — 

The place around which so many pleasant memories 
clung; 

The post of honor upon which so many laurels hung. 

But, oh, how torn and withered they were now ; 
how like a badge of shame they told of awful 
deeds; how the corporate spider wove his entan- 
gling web around the prostitute Senator. After 
lifting his eyes for a farewell look upon the seat 
of so much political debauchery, he brushed a tear 
from his cheek and passed through the door of 
the Senate chamber, never to enter again. 

“So let him stand, through ages yet unborn, 

Fix’d statue on the pedestal of scorn!” 


CHAPTER XX. 


“Regard their hellish fall, 

Whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise 
Only to wonder at unlawful things.” 


A FTER a strenuous two weeks’ fight in Judge 
^ Graham’s impeachment trial, he was found 
guilty of the several charges against him, and ex- 
pelled from the State’s Judiciary. The haughty 
head of the usurper fell languidly upon his breast 
as he heard the decree of Justice like a thunder- 
bolt tear away the gold of his life, leaving noth- 
ing but a mould of mortal dross to shame a line 
of proud posterity. For two long weeks Lucile 
attended the trial of her father, and exerted every 
effort within the power of a noble woman to shield 
his gray hairs from the doom that was gathering 
like a dark cloud over him, but her struggles 
were in vain; the undeniable evidence was con- 
victing, and with tearful eyes and veiled face she 
listened to the stern sentence of expulsion passed 
upon him. During the trial St. Clair was con- 
stantly at Lucile’s side, assisting the poor heart- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


373 


broken girl in the fight for her father^s honor, 
but sympathy engendered for the heroine of the 
trial could not impede the advancement of 
justice. 

“Lucile, I have at last discovered the source 
and undercurrent of that fight against your 
father,” said St. Clair the night after the trial. 
“Col. Black was the unconscious instrument in 
the hands of a scoundrel, who in order to feed 
the fires of his hatred for you, and that he might 
satisfy the hunger of revenge, was willing to put 
a stigma upon the life of your father, in a deliri- 
ous struggle to darken your brow with painful 
humiliation.” 

“Who was the grave-digging hyena ?” asked 
Lucile angrily. 

“John Priest furnished Kennell with the evi- 
dence taken from the file books of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company, and with it they made a 
mere tool of the honest and patriotic Black.” 

“George, we realize with shame that my Father 
has been an indispensable property of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Compan}^; we know how he stood at 


374 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


the battery of government and operated the pro- 
digious machinery that generated a power that 
vitalized the tentacles of that dire monopoly — the 
corporate octopus; but in the face of all these 
facts I cannot see why John Priest should have 
exerted a single effort to bring reproach upon a 
man who has so faithfully served his interests.” 

^“^My dear, John Priest would give millions for 
the satisfaction of wounding your heart and filling 
your soul with grief; his wealth in the aggregate 
would bring him no more pleasure than to see you 
disgraced and writhing in the torture of mental 
agony.” 

^^How low that man Kennell has fallen; his 
soul is but merchandise in the hands of base auc- 
tioneers, their implement of political scavagery. 
Oh, when will this traffic in the souls of men 
cease? When will the bud of manhood unfold 
its petals in the grace of civic purity, and beau- 
tify the portals of polity with its bloom, filling 
its corridors with the breath of justice?” 

‘^My darling, while your father’s great downfall 
has filled your life with bitter sorrow, as a cup 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


375 


overflowing with the waters of Marah, yet you 
must not close your eyes to the bright lining of 
the dark cloud, hut rise like a strong woman to 
encourage and arm with confidence the brave 
warriors of a holy cause. The barricades of mo- 
nopoly are being rived, and now is the time to 
strike for all we hold dear and sacred; now is 
the time to push our forces forward and scatter 
the enemy like autumn leaves in a rushing wind.” 

^^George, you are right; we have reached a 
crisis in the history of Texas. Behind us glide 
the waters of the Rubicon; before us stretches the 
field of battle, and may God grant that it be to 
us a field of conquest from which will rise again 
the crowning glory of the nation — the grand and 
holy supremacy of our sons of toil,” said Lucile 
after a few moments of deep refiection. 

‘^Truth and Justice are the two great batteries 
that give power to our cause, and by them we 
shall conquer, for they are the power of Heaven — 
the paramount attributes of God. Your father’s 
antagonism to the rights of the people cost him 
an office of trust and honor. Senator Bradley’s 


376 


THE XOBLEST EOMAH 


perfidy cost him a conntry^s love and heaped upon 
him its scorn and hatred. These fallen idols of 
political worship mark the beginning of an event- 
ful era in the history of our State. The pompous 
columns of plutocratic temples are trembling; 
their foundations are crumbling, and the veil of 
their respective throne rooms are being rent asun- 
der as the sceptre is departing from their domin- 
ions/’ answered St. Clair. 

heard that the grand jury returned an in- 
dictment today against Henry Priest for per- 
jury.” 

^‘Yes, and he will be the next to feel the lash 
of Justice and the righteous indignation of the 
people. 1 shall take great interest in his trial 
and await with impatience the verdict of the 
jury.” 

^^George, the name of Henry Priest strikes ter- 
ror to my heart, and fills my soul with bitterness 
against that man. He and Senator Bradley were 
the undermining forces of my father’s character 
and the debauchers of his manhood. I can not 
think of them as human beings with the breath 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


377 


of God in their nostrils, and the spirit of im- 
mortality within their breasts, but as monsters, 
merciless in their greed, and pitiless in their cold 
inhuman passions,” said Lucile, sadly. 

“Their code of honor is only a book of blank 
pages smeared with the indelible stains of crime, 
while their secret code of commercialism is but 
a volume containing the names of renegades, and 
the evidence of ruin and oppression. When your 
father realized that he was lost, he found him- 
self deserted by the very men whose dishonesty 
and avariciousness brought the curse of the peo- 
ple upon his head,” replied George indignantly. 

“It may be wrong to pray for the retribution 
of a just God to blast the souls of such men, but 
my thoughts breathe to Heaven that prayer, and 
may God have mercy upon the tongue that utters 
it,” said Lucile with trembling lips as George 
left the house that night. 

“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, 

Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” 


CHAPTER XXI. 


“And round the Champion’s brows was bound 
The crown that the people had wound.” 

'' I "'HE Governor was elected to the United 
States Senate by the Legislature to fill the 
unexpired term of Senator Bradley. On the 
same day the President of the Senate was ap- 
pointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy in 
the Judiciary caused by Judge Graham’s expul- 
sion. This peculiar status of affairs necessitated 
the immediate call for a special election to fill 
the vacancies that would occur in the respective 
offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor. 
Great excitement prevailed throughout Texas over 
these appointments, as they threw the State into 
the heat of another strenuous campaign. The 
wheels of the various political machines began to 
revolve again. Kennell was overhauling his coat 
of mail so as to be ready at a moment’s call to 
sell his services as political trickster to the highest 
bidder. 

The secretary of ''The Knights of the Labor- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


379 


ing Clan/^ by the authority of the Exalted Knight, 
called an immediate rally in Austin of all the 
clans over the State, that they might put out a 
candidate for Governor who would protect and 
advance their cause. The convention was largely 
attended, and within an hour after it convened 
a nominating committee was appointed to select 
candidates for Governor and submit them to a 
vote of the convention. At the expiration of 
another hour the committee returned to the hall 
to make its report. All was silent as the chair- 
man of the committee rose. 

^^Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Con- 
vention: We present to this assembly the name 
of one who for years has fought valiantly for our 
cause — the uplift of struggling thousands; one 
who has been faithful to every trust imposed upon 
him, and loyal to every principle that dominates 
our clan. We present the name of our Exalted 
Knight, George St. Clair, as the chosen standard 
bearer of the laboring people of Texas.” 

At the mention of this name the whole conven- 
tion went mad, lost their heads, threw their hats 


380 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


into the air and shonted the name of their leader 
with an enthusiasm that sent renewed patriotism 
tingling in every nerve; their manifestation of 
love and loyalty was but little less than deifica- 
tion itself. The vote was soon taken and George 
St. Clair was unanimously chosen the guberna- 
torial candidate of the Federation of Laboring 
Clans. 

In presenting St. Clair to the convention, the 
Chairman spoke as follows: ^Tn past ages when 
leaders of the Crusade unfolded their battleflags 
and led a host to battle, the occult power that 
drove them into the fray, through the smoke of 
conflict to the goal of victory and peace, was the 
inspiration of a righteous cause. With our slogan 
of battle, ^For God and Home and Country,^ the 
Laboring Clans of Texas rally today around the 
standard of their peerless leader, and with beat- 
ing hearts and strong convictions enter the fray 
for political and commercial supremacy. We 
herald you as the Knight of Texas chivalry — a 
chivalry that is broad enough to embrace the 
homes and firesides of downtrodden men ; we 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


381 


herald you as the Chieftain of a great clan— a 
clan of home defenders and country builders; we 
herald you as the laurel-crowned Wellington of 
next month^s Waterloo— a Waterloo where op- 
pressive Monopoly will be vanquished forever. We 
feel that the unseen hand of God is leading a 
mighty host to victory, and that when the dust 
and smoke of battle have cleared away, we shall 
hear the applause given our returning Chieftain 
as he enters in triumph the Capital City of our 
State. 

have the pleasure of presenting to you the 
Honorable George St. Clair, the next Governor of 
Texas.'’^ 

After a speech that touched the most stony 
heart and imbued his hearers with that righteous 
patriotism which strengthens the love of country 
and feeds the sacrificial spirit within the breasts 
of men, George St. Clair took his seat, and with 
deepest emotion saw the grand demonstration of 
the people as they received his address. 

The convention took a recess until three o^clock 
in the afternoon, and after St. Clair had received 


382 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


the personal congratulations of his many friends 
and political admirers, he entered a carriage and 
drove to the Graham home in order to be the 
first to tell the woman he loved of the honors so 
lately placed upon him. For a few minutes Lu- 
cile looked into the face of St. Clair — the emo- 
tions within her soul had mastered the faculties 
of speech. The pride and happiness of her life 
were manifested in the tears that gushed from 
eyes beaming with joy, then together they gazed 
silently into the future, radiant with love and 
honor. 

“Great thoughts, great feelings, came to them. 

Like instincts, unawares.” 


CHAPTER XXII. 


“They that stand high, have many blasts to shake 
them; 

And if they fall, they dash themselves to pieces.” 

A fter two weeks of patient hearing in the 
perjury trial of Henry Priest, the jury 
returned a verdict of guilty and assessed his pun- 
ishment at five years in the State Penitentiary. 
When the words of doom fell from the Judge^s 
lips, a woman turned in her chair and threw her 
arms around the prisoner like the vine that twines 
its gentle tendrils around the fallen oak — she was 
the wife of Henry Priest. Throughout the trial 
she had occupied a chair by his side and had 
listened attentively to the evidence of the Statens 
witnesses, and with fearful apprehension heard 
the testimony that was to tear her husband from 
her and consign him for a term of years behind 
the gloomy walls of a prison. One of the prom- 
inent attributes of woman is that she is strongest 
in the hour of adversity; that she is bravest in 
the time of danger, and more resolute and power- 
ful when facing fearful odds. 


384 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


Appeal after appeal was made, but in each 
instance the decision of the lower court was af- 
firmed. Despair and Hope battled within the 
breast of the faithful wife, but hope gained the 
ascendency when, with the attorneys for the de- 
fense, she went into the presence of the Governor 
to present her petition for a pardon. A wife^s 
tender and heartrending appeal was to be the 
finesse of the last struggle of this legal battle for 
the liberty of Plutocracy’s king. Would the Gov- 
ernor weigh the pride of the prisoner in the per- 
fectly poised scales of Justice? Would he add 
the weights of social caste against the dignity of 
the State’s law and her people’s safety? 

The retiring Governor paid chivalrous atten- 
tion to the wife’s earnest pleadings, but felt that 
the inherent duty of his office forbade an inter- 
ference and demanded the enforcement of the 
Court’s decree. 

“While it is true the Governor has the par- 
doning* power, he should place that prerogative 
in the hands of Justice and obey the mandates 
of its custodian, therefore I must subdue my 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


385 


feelings in this matter and let the law take its 
course/^ said the Governor at the conclusion of 
the conference with Mrs. Priest. 

But these words so full of despair did not 
weaken the spirit within the breast of the wife, 
but nerved her to exert every effort to save her 
husband. Her unbounded affection mingled with 
the eloquence of a sorrowing heart, brought tears 
to the eyes of the Governor when he told her 
again. that he must stand firmly by the decision 
of the Court. George St. Clair, the Governor 
elect, whose inauguration was to take place the 
next week, would give the brave woman another 
chance to appeal for executive clemency, but this 
hope in her heart flickered only as a dying flame, 
for the new Governor who was to take the oath of 
office at that time had spent the last few years in 
legal frays against her husband and his powerful 
interests. But in the face of these odds, she was 
determined to make a bold fight and win if she 
could the one desire of her life — her husband's 
freedom. 

The day of the inauguration arrived and the 


386 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


lower floor of the House of Representatives was 
packed with members of the Legislature, their 
wives and friends, while the gallery, jammed to 
its uttermost capacity, seemed like a consolidated 
mass of humanity. Throughout the State the la- 
boring people had set apart this date as a holiday 
in honor of their Exalted Knight who had risen 
to the highest office within the gift of the people 
of Texas, and who, as a brave leader had struck 
effectual blows against encroaching Monopoly as 
it trespassed upon the sacred rights of the laborer. 
The great parade that had been planned, started 
from the foot of Congress Avenue, headed by the 
mounted police force of the city, after wliich 
came the hand with its inspiring and soul-stirring 
music. Drawn by four white horses came the 
carriage in which sat George St. Clair, Lucile 
Graham, the retiring Governor and his wife. Fol- 
lowing, marched the several labor organizations, 
fire companies, and various fraternal societies. 
Amid the booming of cannon, the flourish of 
trumpets, the clash of cymbals, and the rolling 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


387 


of drmns^ the parade entered the Capitol grounds 
and proceeded to the House of Representatives. 

After taking the oath of office, St. Clair pressed 
his lips to the Bible, and kissed the following 
prophetic verse: ^^He that dwelleth in the secret 
place of the Most High shall abide under the 
shadow of the Almighty.” As he rose to deliver 
his inaugural address the applause that greeted 
him manifested the deep affection of his people. 
Turning to Lucile, who sat at the right of the 
platform, he bowed in acknowledgment of the 
people^s salutation — he bowed to her whose pure 
and noble life was the propelling force along the 
path of prowess to the high pinnacle of honor he 
had now attained. This tribute to the woman 
who that evening was to become his wife, touched 
the heartstrings of the great multitude and 
brought forth renewed applause. For an hour 
the great patriot outlined the policies that were 
to dominate his administration as Governor of 
Texas; then turning his eyes toward the gallery 
he appealed to the masses for their united 


388 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


strength to assist him in establishing forever the 
rule of the people, and in conclusion said: 

^^To use the words of the Father of our Coun- 
try, T hope I shall always possess firmness and 
virtue enough to maintain, what I consider the 
most enviable of all titles, the character of an 
honest man/ As Governor St. Clair took his 
seat, the band broke forth with the strains of 
^HTail to the Chief,^^ while a great sea of humanity 
moved to grasp his hand and feel 

“An undefined and sudden thrill, 

Which makes the heart a moment still.” 


CHAPTER XXIII. 


“Look down, you gods. 

And on this couple drop a blessed crown.” 

HOW strange it seems that we should 
be here — how like a fairy dream/’ 
said Lucile as she passed with her husband 
through the stately doors of the Governor’s Man- 
sion an hour after their marriage. 

^^This has been the greatest day of my life — 
inaugurated Governor of the greatest State in the 
Union, and married to the dearest woman in the 
world,” answered St. Clair as he drew his wife 
in his arms and kissed her. 

“I feel that the purpose of God in giving you 
the governorship of Texas, is that you may prove 
yourself a Moses and lead his people from thral- 
dom,” replied Lucile as she looked proudly into 
the face of her husband. 

^^Then God being my witness, I renew the vows 
made to my people, and heart and hand shall not 
fail to execute them. The first oppressor of the 
poor and helpless that falls into my hands shall 


390 


THE NOBLEST KOMAH 


be made an example and punished according to 
the laws of our State/^ 

^^George, this reminds me of the letter I re- 
ceived from Mrs. Priest immediately following 
your inauguration today, in which she pleads with 
me to use my influence with you for her husband’s 
freedom. Her pathetic words touched my heart. 
She will call here at the Mansion tomorrow morn- 
ing and I have promised to be present during her 
talk with you. As this has been the happiest day 
of our lives, let’s celebrate all that it has brought 
us, by bringing joy to her broken heart and by 
dispelling the cloud that rests tonight over her 
home.” 

‘T hate to refuse this first request of my noble 
wife — a request that springs from the source of 
a true woman’s love, but for years this criminal 
Plutocrat has defied the laws of our land and in 
his madness for pelf trampled Justice into the 
dust, consequently our prisons are now full of poor 
unfortunates who are serving out their sentences 
for crimes to which they were driven by the des- 
peration of poverty, caused by the dominating 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


391 


power of merciless monopolites. The creed of my 
administration shall be justice to the oppressor 
and mercy to the oppressed; therefore, I sadly 
await the morrow when a sorrowing woman must 
leave this place without hope or comfort/’ said 
St. Clair. 

“Then the poor woman is to be torn from her 
husband for five long sad years/’ sighed Lucile 
as she brushed a tear from her cheek. 

“My dear, the majesty of the law has spoken, 
and its decree must be obeyed, but let us not dis- 
cuss this question tonight, but for a while forget 
that joy has it sorrows, and sweet its bitter.” 

“My dear Mrs. Priest, I am sorry that I can- 
not grant the boon you ask. I have listened to 
your brave appeal until all the sympathy of my 
nature has been aroused; until I have felt the 
same heart pains that throb within your own 
breast,” said St. Clair after an hour’s conference 
with the wife of Henry Priest. 

“No, Governor, you do not feel the keen anguish 
that cuts my heart like a knife; you have never 


392 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


fathomed the greatest depths of woman’s love; 
3^ou have never suffered the bitterness of sorrow 
that now fills my life, or you would give mercy 
precedence over justice as you see it, and brighten 
our darkened home,” replied Mrs. Priest pas- 
sionately. 

■^^My dear woman, I do know the awful pangs 
this sentence upon your husband brings to you, 
but even a Governor must live and act within the 
limitations of the law, and as I am bound by 
oath of office and allegiance to my people, I must 
not turn loose a man who has for years been a 
hard taskmaster over thousands of the poor of 
this State.” 

For another hour the poor woman plead for 
her husband, but the Governor was firm and un- 
relenting. 

Crossing the room, Mrs. Priest embraced Lu- 
cile and wept tears of a broken heart upon her 
bosom. After a while she raised her head and 
fixed her eyes upon Lucile — her last appeal was 
now to be made — not to a cold and stern court 
of law, but to an exalted tribunal — the sacred 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


393 


trinity composed of woman’s love, sympathy and 
affection. For a few moments her eyes rested 
upon the face of the Governor’s wife, then with 
a cry of astonishment she seized the locket hang- 
ing from Lucile’s neck and read the inscription 
upon it. 

^‘The locket ! The locket ! Where did you get 
it ? Speak and tell me all !” 

St. Clair turned pale, and with bated breath 
sat motionless as Lucile told in a few words the 
history of the locket, how it was found upon the 
neck of a baby that was taken to a New York 
orphanage by a nurse who claimed to have found 
the child upon the streets; how Senator Bradley 
and his wife adapted the baby and brought him 
to Texas ; how he grew into manhood and is now 
the Governor of this State. Before Lucile had 
finished her story, the woman sprang from her 
embrace and rushing to where the Governor was 
sitting, threw her arms passionately around his 
neck. 

^^My child ! My child ! My own darling boy, 
I have found you at last. My God, my God, I 


394 


THE I^OBLEST ROMAN 


thank Thee, I thank Thee for giving to me again 
my child cried the happy mother as she hugged 
her big boy over and over again. 

St. Clair soon recovered from his bewilderment 
and dropping his head upon the bosom of his 
new-found mother, wept for joy. A few min- 
utes passed in this embrace, then drawing his 
wife and mother together in his arms, looked up 
with a smile — a smile that spoke more eloquently 
than the silver tongue — St. Clair had found his 
mother. 

“1 cannot speak, tears so obstruct my words 
And choke me with unutterable joy.” 


CHAPTER XIV. 


“The eagle’s fate and mine are one, 

Which on the shaft that made him die, 

Espied a feather of his own. 

Wherewith he wont to soar so high.” 

OLLOWIN G the strange revelation that 
^ brought her long lost child to her, Mrs. 
Priest was driven in a closed carriage to the jail 
to communicate to her husband the glad news. 
When she met him she fell into his arms crying: 

'^Our baby is found ! Our baby is found 

^^My God ! My God ! What do you mean 
exclaimed Priest distractedly. 

^‘Our baby was not drowned — he is alive — he 
is here!” 

‘^Where? Where?” cried Priest frantically as 
he tore himself from his wife. 

^^George St. Clair, the Governor of Texas, is 
our own boy — our poor lost baby.” 

Henry PriesPs face was now as pale as death; 
the strong man was trembling from the shock 
that had penetrated every nerve in his body, and 
with emotion he listened to the story of the locket 


396 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


that had revealed so much — that had brought 
back to them their own child. 

^‘.It seems incredible that my greatest adversary 
in Texa.s should be my son; that the one who 
brought me to a felon’s cell and wreathed my 
brow with the thorns of shame, should be of my 
own flesh and blood/’ muttered Priest in a tone 
of resentment. 

^^The very fact that our flesh and blood is a 
part of his own, means a pardon to you,” replied 
the wife hopefully. 

The sheriff had now come in response to the 
request of Mrs. Priest to accompany them to the 
Governor’s Mansion. 

St. Clair greeted his father and mother affec- 
tionately, and for several hours discussed his 
babyhood days and the awful catastrophe that had 
changed the course of his life and divided the 
House of Priest. At the beginning of the conver- 
sation the sheriff withdrew to another room and 
left the family to themselves. 

^^George, for years we have fought each other 
defiantly ; I stood for capitalized interests, and 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


397 


met you, the grand champion of labor, in the 
arena of political gladiators. We both stood val- 
iantly for our respective cause, flinging mercy to 
the winds and asking no odds, we fought to the 
bitter end the end of my predominance. You 
left the fleld in triumphant glory, while I went 
from it in shackles and disgrace to And my re- 
ward in the gloom of a prison cell, with a sen- 
tence of five years in the penitentiary to rob my 
nights of sleep and steep a proud spirit in the 
bitterness of agony and despair. You are now 
an heir to millions, and as my son and Governor 
of this State, I want you to grant me a pardon, 
and with your wife return with us to St. Louis 
and take my place at the head of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company and manage its affairs. As 
my elder son you are entitled to this place— it is 
yours by the right of inheritance— yours by the 
right of blood and flesh/^ 

'"While it is true you are my father, I must 
not add another crime to the history of our fam- 
ily by using the governorship— a station of honor 
and trust, in order to gain immense wealth, or 


398 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


free a transgressor of our laws merely because of 
family relationship. My heart bleeds over your 
adversity, but not to save my own life would I 
prostitute a sacred oath.’^ 

''My God ! My God ! Is it true that you are 
going to deny your own father his liberty ? That 
you refuse to exert a prerogative that would save 
him the stigma of a convict?” cried Priest wildly. 

"My Father, this position in which I find my- 
self, hurts me far more than it does you. You 
have for years violated the laws of Texas and 
driven rough-shod over the prostrate forms of 
laboring people in your mad rush to a golden 
goal — the throne of plutocratic sovereignty. In 
taking the oath of my office, I swore that I would 
defend and execute the decrees of Justice. You 
have lived the life of a Pharaoh; with an iron- 
hand you have ruled tyrannically and oppres- 
sively, therefore you must submit to your sen- 
tence — the yoke you have for years placed upon 
the necks of the poor, you must now wear yourself 
and learn to bear its galling pains,” answered St. 
Clair resolutely. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


399 


Seeing her cherished hopes fade away, St. 
Clair s mother buried her face in her hands and 
sobbed aloud, while his father with a sigh looked 
up into the face of his son and said : 

“I see the error of my past life as it stretches 
far behind me like a bleak and flowerless desert, 
over which are strewn the bones of men, women 
and children, but I ask at your hands a pardon 
that I might begin life over again at this junc- 
ture and tread the remaining path of life as a 
philanthropist; as the sower of seeds that will 
develop into the fruits of blessing and nourish the 
hearts and souls of men.” 

“I cannot interfere— the law must take its 
course. Thousands of poor fellows without 
money, friends or influence, have crossed the 
‘Bridge of Sighs’ for crimes much less than yours. 
I have promised the people of this State I would 
establish the precedent that money cannot buy 
freedom for the wrong-doer; that the rich and 
poor must be punished alike.” 

Priest rose quickly to his feet and with the 
flush of anger on his brow exclaimed: 


400 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


^‘You are unworthy of the blood in your veins 
and the flesh on your bones! Better a thousand 
times had you perished beneath the angry waves 
of the Atlantic the day of the awful disaster than 
to allow this infamy to rest upon your father and 
this disgrace to overshadow his home. Unless 
you grant that pardon I will disinherit you of 
every penny.” 

^Tf you were a true, brave father you would 
not ask your son to violate an oath as sacred as 
Heaven. As to that which you call my inherit- 
ance, it is not mine, but belongs to the poor you 
have mercilessly robbed. I would rather remain 
as I am, the defender of my people, than share 
the spoils of monopolism in its conquests over the 
defenseless. I would rather he a Moses and lead 
my countrymen from the house of bondage to 
the sphere of greater liberties, than wear the pol- 
luted purple as the crown prince of Plutocracy, 
or bear the royal insignia of the house of the 
modern Pharaoh.” 

Two weeks later Henry Priest was taken to 
the Huntsville penitentiary and turned over to 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 401 

the warden of that prison. His black tailored 
suit was doffed that he might don a suit of 
stripes — the unsightly uniform of the institution. 


'They enter’d — ’twas a prison room 
Of stern serenity and glooni.” 


CH APTER XXV. 


“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a 
crown of life,” 

T OXIGHT, Governor St. Clair sits with his 
wife upon the broad portico of the Gov- 
ernor’s Mansion. A year has passed since his 
inauguration — a year of continuous and stren- 
uous struggles for his people. 

wonder if the noble Texans realize the 
many sacrifices you are making for them; the 
many burdens you are taking upon yourself in 
lifting the yoke of tyrannical oppression from 
their necks/’ said Lucile as she kissed the deep 
furrows that responsibility and care had traced 
upon his stately brow. 

^^Yes, my darling, a year ago they manifested 
their appreciation when they chose me to take 
the initiative in lifting from them the cross they 
had borne for years, and in the service of exe- 
cuting their will, I only did my duty. The peo- 
ple have at last awakened to the fact that they, 
in their unity, are the strength of the nation, and 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


403 


this realization has enkindled the spirit of de- 
fiance within their breasts, to the extent of ter- 
rorizing the cold-blooded capitalists who hereto- 
fore trod the land of the brave with cloven feet/^ 
''Yes, but your own stubborn and resolute de- 
termination to wipe out the last vestige of monop- 
oly was the shock that awakened a sleeping people 
and imbued them with strength to strike asunder 
the fetters that held them slaves,'' replied Lucile 
proudly. 

No, indeed, the honors of all my conquests 
over monopoly belong to the people. The laurels 
of this administration are theirs, for I was a mere 
weakling until their love and confidence trans- 
formed me into a battling giant." 

"Your modesty has gained a mastery over you 
and forbids that you share a glory that by a long 
established precedent belongs to the leader of a 
triumphant cause." 

"Yes, but I am going to break that precedent," 
said St. Clair seriously. '"A general is no 
stronger than the strength of his soldiery." 

"By the way, George, I received a letter from 


404 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


Kate today. Poor girl, her vain ambition has 
been shattered by the treachery of Hansford 
Kalab, who was married last week to a girl in 
New York. With a broken heart and blighted 
hopes, she now realizes her awful mistake in meas- 
uring the worth of men by a plutocratic standard, 
rather than by the scale of virtue.’^ 

“Hansford Kalab, the wretch that he is, de- 
serves ^an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth/ 
hut what more could Kate expect than such ad- 
versity in her life. In her haughtiness she looked 
down v,^ith contempt upon the poor and unfor- 
tunate of this earth, and in her vanity sowed 
tares with no thought of what the harvest would 
be,^’ said St. Clair seriously. 

At this moment their attention was arrested 
by a carriage that stopped at the foot of the long 
walk extending from the street to the steps of 
the Mansion. Au old gentleman alighted and 
was slowly walking toward the portico where 
Lucile and St. Clair were sitting. As he drew 
nearer, Lucile recognized her father, who had not 


THE NOBLEST HOMAN 405 

spoken to her since his expulsion from the 
J udiciar}^ 

"'Father! I am glad you have come at last!” 
exclaimed Lucile as she sprang into his arms and 
pressed his pale lips with a kiss. 

‘■^My daughter! My daughter!” cried the old 
man, whose form was bent by the burdens of 
transgression. "For long and dreary months I 
have suffered your absence and longed for the 
sound of just one word from your lips. The 
spirit of resentment kept me away from you, but 
at last I conquered, my haughtiness and resolved 
to come to you and George.” 

As Lucile and her father ascended the steps, 
St. Clair rose to his feet and advanced to meet 
his antagonist of the past. The feeble old man, 
full of remorse, touched the heartstrings of 
George St. Clair, who with a smile extended his 
hand. 

Father, I unite with Lucile in welcoming you 
to our home, and I assure you we are glad to 
have you with us.” 

"My boy, for years I fought you with bitter 


406 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


hatred, but time has revealed an adversary worthy 
of the highest civic honors, and tonight I acknowl- 
edge that my little girl was the better judge of 
what constitutes a perfect man. My life has 
also taught me that the most priceless thing in 
all the world is a spotless character, and that its 
only defense is truth replied Judge Graham as 
they entered the library. 

^H“’ather, I thank God for this hour — the hour 
that gives me back my father and adds another 
ray of light to lifers pathway !” exclaimed Lucile 
as she threw herself by the side of J udge Graham. 

The old Alcalde turned his eyes toward St. 
Clair, and with deep emotion said: ‘^George, I 
shall spend the remainder of my years in peni- 
tence for the error of my past life — a life of 
mockery and shame. For the wealth of the Plu- 
tocrat I tagged my soul for hell and followed 
the path of the web-winged and cloven-footed, but 
1 am now thankful for the social and political 
reverses that changed my course toward eternal 
destruction and stopped my soul in transit.” As 
he finished speaking, his silvery head fell upon 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


407 


his breast and he wept like a child over the ruins 
of a life that seemed irreparable. 

"Judge Graham/^ said St. Clair with emotion, 
"may you in your declining years prove a blessing 
to humanity.^^ 

"The sins of my past life have turned my 
dearest and noblest friends from me, and their 
scorn like a Terror is turned upon me; it pursues 
my soul as the wind; and my welfare passeth 
away as a cloud.’ How true are the words of 
Saadi ; ‘He who, when he hath power, doeth not 
good; when he loses the means will suffer dis- 
tress.’ There is not a more unfortunate wretch 
than the oppressor; for in the day of adversity 
nobody is his friend,” muttered the old man as 
he leaned upon his daughter for support. 

Lucile placed her arm around his neck and 
affectionately said: "There is one who remains 
a friend forever ; whose strong hand reaches down 
and lifts the penitent transgressor to loftier 
heights. The great Father in Heaven never de- 
serts His children, but as a good Shepherd, He 


408 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 


follows His sheep into the brambles in His en- 
deavor to draw them back to the fold.” 

^^0 God ! My God ! Have mercy on my sonl 
and purge my life of the awful crimes with which 
it is full ! Oh, how the remembrance of my base 
deeds stings my conscience and tears with mad- 
ness the mortal prison of the soul. 0, my chil- 
dren, my children ! Had I but served my God 
and the people of my State with half the zeal I 
served Priest, Bradley and the Combined Inter- 
ests, they would not in mine age have left me 
naked to mine enemies — ” 

His lips couid speak no more, and with an 
agonizing gasp he fell forward upon the floor. 
The soul of the betrayer and oppressor of men 
had winged its way to the celestial Court of Jus- 
tice, over which presides ''The Judge of all the 
EarthT 

“So fallen! so lost! the light withdrawn 
Which once he wore! 

The glory from his gray hairs gone 
Forevermore ! 



His lips could speak no more, and with an ago- 
nizing gasp he fell forward iij)on tlu' floor. The soul 
of the betrayer and oppressor of men had wingc'd its 
way to the celestial Court of Justice, ov('r which pn'- 
sides 'The Judge of all the Earth.” — Page 408 . 






\ ' 






THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


409 


Revile him not — the Tempter hath 
A snare for all; 

And pitying tears, not scorn and wrath, 
Befit his fall! 

Oh ! dumb be passion’s stormy rage, 
When he who might 

Have lighted up and led his age. 

Falls back in night. 

Scorn! would tlie angels laugh, to mark 
A bright soul driven, 

Fiend-goaded down the endless dark 
From hope and Heaven! 


Let not the land, once proud of him. 
Insult him now. 

Nor brand with deeper shame, his dim. 
Dishonored brow. 

But let its humbled sons, instead. 

From sea to lake, 

A long lament, as for the dead. 

In sadness make. 

Of all we loved and honored, naught 
Save power remains — 

A fallen angel’s pride of thought. 

Still strong in chains. 


410 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN 


All else is gone: from those great eyes 
The soul has fled; 

When faith is lost, when honor dies, 

The man is dead! 

Then, pay the reverence of old days 
To his dead fame; 

Walk backward, with averted gaze. 

And hide his shame!” 

Senator Bradley sold his city home and moved 
to the Gibbons ranch — a principality upon the 
hills of which graze registered cattle and race 
horses. The powerful statesman of yesterday — 
the great and mighty god at whose shrine a loyal 
people bowed, today, hissed and scorned by his 
worshipers of the past, preferred a life of perfect 
solitude — a hermitage where the accusing eyes of 
a betrayed people could not fall upon the face of 
a Judas whose conscience like a fiery lash was 
scourging him to a grave of shame. So it was, 
upon, this ranch bought with corporate money 
and betrayal kisses, the social and political out- 
cast spent the remainder of his days unhonored 
and unloved, while George St. Clair, the leader 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN 411 

of the masses, stood loyal and faithful to his trust, 
receiving from the people who loved him, the 
grand appellation of ^‘Tlie Noblest Homan of 
Them All/’ 


‘His strength was the strength of ten, 
Because his heart was pure.” 


The Noblest Roman 

By SINCLAIR MORELAND 

^ A Story of Political Debauchery and 
Prostituted Allegiance. 

^ A Thrilling Love Story That Tells 
of the Tyranny of a Texas Senator. 

^ A Novel Through Which the Rustle 
of a Webbed Wing and the Tread of 
a Cloven Foot Are Heard. 

^ A Novel Containing the Woof of 
Fiction Ingeniously Interwoven With 
the Warp of Fact. 

Price $1.00, Postpaid 

111 Noblest Roman Publishing Co. 

Box 538, Austin, Texas 

Agents Wanted in Every Town. Liberal Terms. 


LB D 11 





Che 




Sinclair ^orelanh 











I 


9 


I 






N 


» 


f 




I* 




\ 


i 


< 


^ rf 

A 




# 










• * 







•f 


♦ 


9 


. * 


l.T 

• • 



ff 


P 


¥ 



I 


4» 






« 




i 



# 








t 

I 


W' 






t 


A 


■ •• 






« 


a 


% 


y 


li V 





♦ 


i 






< 


u<.‘. 


t 




I 



t 















